Prevention of Hemoglobinopathies in Egypt

Abstract

The hemoglobin disorders are the most common clinically serious single gene disorders in the world. In Egypt, β-thalassemia is the most common type with a carrier rate varying from 5.3 to ≥9% and a gene frequency of 0.03. So, it was estimated that 1,000/1.5 million per year live births will suffer from thalassemia disease in Egypt (total live births 1,936,205 in 2006). β-Thalassemia creates a social and financial burden for the patients' family and the Egyptian government. The high frequency of β-thalassemia carriers with increasing rate of newly born cases is a pressing reason for the importance to develop prevention program for β-thalassemia in Egypt. Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is not frequent in Egypt except in the Oases where the carrier rate varies from 9 to 22%. Our objectives were to provide an in-depth analysis of the current status of hemoglobinopathies in Egypt and what we need for prevention of these diseases.

Keywords:

• Thalassemia
• Sickle-cell disease
• Hemoglobinopathies
• Prenatal diagnosis
• Premarital screening
• Prevention program