Abstract
The aim of this study was the determination of hemoglobin (Hb) variants and ABO blood groups in a school population aged 6 to 9 years in the township of Agbandé-Yaka in North Togo. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 570 children of four primary schools at Agbande-Yaka, between March and July 2010. Hemoglobin characterization was done by alkaline buffer electrophoresis and the blood types ABO-Rhesus (Rh) D by immuno-hematological methods. A Hb variant was detected in 37.0% of the schoolchildren. Among them, the AS trait accounted for 11.9% and the AC trait for 20.2%. Homozygous Hb S (HBB: c.20A>T) was not found but Hb C (HBB: c.19G>A) appeared at a frequency of 3.3%, while compound heterozygotes carrying Hb SC were seen at a frequency of 1.6%. The O, B and A blood groups accounted for 49.0, 26.8 and 21.9%, respectively. The Hb anomalies reached a high prevalence in this school population. These results are remarkable by the absence of homozygous Hb S individuals compared to homozygous Hb C individuals, which were as numerous as expected. The frequencies of the ABO blood groups are similar to what has been found in other West African populations.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the chief of Agbandé-Yaka’s township for accepting and facilitating the achievement of this study; the Inspector of Primary Education of Doufelgou and the directors of primary schools of Agbandé-Yaka for their support with the awareness campaign; the parents and the children who participated in the study; the Director and the Staff of the Laboratory at the University Hospital of Kara, Togo for their technical support in the achievement of this study; and last but by no means least, Professor Frédéric Galactéros (Sickle Cell Reference Centre, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France) for careful reading of this manuscript.