Hemoglobins S and C in Upper Volta

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Abstract
We have studied the incidence of hemoglobinopathies in 1059 individuals in Upper Volta. We have found that this population has a high frequency of HbS and HbC and α-thalassemia. The gene frequency of HbS was high (0.1 for the βS gene) in the arid Sahel portion of Upper Volta accompanied by a lower frequency for HbC (0.05 for the βc gene). The reverse was true in the humid Savanna region of this country (0.03 for the βS gene and 0.14 for the βc gene). There was no age dependency of the HbS gene frequency, but α-thalassemia, detectable in HbS heterozygotes, showed a statistically significant decrease with age. No homozygote for HbS was detected after the age of 1 year, and SC and CC genotypes were found at a lower incidence than expected. The environmental and medical conditions in Upper Volta preclude the survival of SS individuals and decrease the survival of SC and CC genotypes.