A Comparison of Measured and Predicted Haemoglobin Genotype in a Nigerian Population in Bonny, Rivers State, Nigeria

Cellulose acetate electrophoresis technique has been used to estimate haemoglobin genotype and the predicted values from the estimate in accordance with the population genetics studies (Fleming and Lehman 1982) were evaluated in 850 subjects (386 males and 464 females) selected randomly from Bonny, in Rivers State, Nigeria of ages between 3 and 77 years. There was significant differences (P < 0.001) between the measured and the predicted haemoglobin genotype values suggesting that the predicted cannot be substituted for the measured. Two further haemoglobinopatheis, HbSC and HbCC were predicted to be the expected haemoglobin genotype of newborn into the population in the next decade suggesting that the incidence of abnormal haemoglobin in the population may arise from the complex interaction between the genetic constitution of the individual and some unidentified environmental factors. @ JASEM The percentage of person with one of two types of haemoglobin genes – normal haemoglobin (HbAA) and abnormal haemoglobin (sickle cell trait, HbAS, sickle cell disease HbSS etc) in a community is an indication of Health awareness of its population. Knowledge and care of whether one is a carrier or a sickler or have normal haemoglobin is therefore the responsibility of the person and the entire community. Available reports indicate important differences in the distribution of haemoglobin genotypes between Causcasians and Africans (Schnelder et al 1976, Graham 1988, Reid and Famodu, 1988, Fleming and Lehman 1982). The most prominent feature is the prevalence of sickle cell trait/sickle cell disease among Africans than Caucasians and this correlates with falciparium malaria parasite transmission theory (Allison, 1964). There is however, a limited number of information of studies which described the distribution of haemoglobin genotypes among Nigerian population, in particularly, for a ethnic group in the swampy environment of the Niger Delta. The present report is, therefore, a study designed to find out the frequency of haemoglobin genotype in the population of Bonny ethnic group in the Niger Delta from which further information about the pattern of distribution of normal and abnormal haemoglobin genotypes for Nigerian may emerge. The Hardy-Weinbery law (Fleming and Lehman, 1982) has been used to predict the expected distribution of haemoglobin genotype of newborn into the population in the next decade