People whose families come from Mediterranean countries, the Caribbean, the Middle East and India may also be affected.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Serjeant GR.
Sickle cell disease.
2nd revised edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK; 1992.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
World Health Organization.
Sickle-cell anaemia.
April 2006. Available at: http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA59/A59_9-en.pdf (accessed on 28 August 2007).

 

 

 

 

 

²

About 60,000 people in the United States have sickle cell disease.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Hickman M, Modell B, Greengross P, et al.
Mapping the prevalence of sickle cell and beta thalassaemia in England: estimating and validating ethnic-specific rates.
British Journal of Haematology. 1999; 104: 860-867.

 

 

 

 

 

³

The sickle cell gene is most common in areas where there is

 

 

 

 

 

malaria
Malaria is a dangerous but treatable disease caused by a parasite. This parasite lives in mosquitoes in parts of Asia, Africa and South America. You can catch it if you are bitten by an infected mosquito. Malaria can give you symptoms similar to the flu (influenza). The most common symptom is a fever.

 

 

 

 

 

malaria. Malaria is a disease spread by mosquitoes. It's common in tropical countries. Malaria doesn't cause sickle cell disease. But it's more likely that someone will carry the sickle cell gene if they're from a country where there's malaria. And people with ancestors from these countries are also more likely to carry the gene.

Between 1 in 10 and 3 in 10 people living in tropical parts of Africa carry the sickle cell gene.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Ohene-Frempong K, Nkrumah FK.
Sickle cell disease in Africa.
In: Embury SH, Hebbel RP, Mohandas N, et al (editors). Sickle cell disease: basic principles and clinical practice. Raven Press, New York, NY, USA; 1994.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴ Between 1 in 100 and 2 in 100 people born each year in Africa probably have sickle cell disease.

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