%0 Journal Article
%T An up-date on the prevalence of sickle cell trait in Eastern and Western Uganda
%A Andrew L Okwi
%A Wilson Byarugaba
%A Christopher M Ndugwa
%A Arthur Parkes
%A Michael Ocaido
%A James K Tumwine
%J BMC Blood Disorders
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2326-10-5
%X This study was a cross sectional survey which was carried out in the districts of Mbale and Sironko in the Eastern, Mbarara/Ntungamo and Bundibugyo in Western Uganda. The participants were children (6 months-5 yrs). Blood was collected from each subject and analyzed for hemoglobin S using cellulose acetate Hb electrophoresis.The established prevalence of the SCT (As) in Eastern Uganda was 17.5% compared to 13.4% and 3% in Bundibugyo and Mbarara/Ntungamo respectively. 1.7% of the children in Eastern Uganda tested positive for haemoglobin ss relative to 3% in Bundibugyo, giving gene frequencies of 0.105 and 0.097 for the recessive gene respectively. No ss was detected in Mbarara/Ntungamo.A shift in the prevalence of the SCT and ss in Uganda is notable and may be explained by several biological and social factors. This study offers some evidence for the possible outcome of intermarriages in reducing the incidence of the SCT.Sickle cell disease is an inherited hemoglobinopathy arising from the substitution of glutamic amino acid by valine in the sixth position of the beta globin chain [1]. Inheritance of the sickle cell trait follows a recessive autosomal pattern. Phenotypically, only persons with double recessive genes of sickle cell (ss homozygotes) do manifest disease, whilst the heterozygotes (AS) are being referred to as carriers. According to Diallo, Africa is the most highly affected continent with 200,000 new born affected by sickle cell anemia (SCA) per year [1]. This constitutes approximately 66.6% of the children born with haemoglobinopathies worldwide. According to reports from Ghana, it is estimated that 15,000 children are born with sickle cell disease (SCD) annually [2]. In Benin, the sickle cell trait (SCT) prevalence is estimated to be 25% [3] while in Nigeria it ranges from 24-25% [4,5]. The prevalence of the sickle cell gene among the Chagga tribe in Tanzania on the other hand is about 4%. In all these African countries, the concentration of the SCT h
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2326/10/5