Spectrum of β-Thalassemia Mutations in Egypt

Carrier screening and prenatal diagnosis programs have successfully reduced the incidence of β-thalassemia (thal) in countries where the carrier rates are high (1-3). The incidence of β-thal is particularly high in Egypt (4) due to the combined effects of high carrier rates (5) and consanguineous marriages (6). As a prerequisite to establishing effective programs for prenatal diagnosis, it is important to identify the spectrum of mutations within the population. To this end, we have surveyed the β-thal mutations for a cohort of 55 transfusion-dependent β-thal patients from the Alexandria region of Egypt and the adjacent rural governorates. Affected siblings were not included in the study. The patients were either Moslem (46/55, 84%) or Christian (9/55, 16%). Almost three-quarters (40/55, 73%) of the patients had consanguineous parents.