Table 1: Significant cases of SCDs including thalassemias by
continent/region. (1) SCA (HbSS) (2) HbSC (3) α-Thalassemia HbC
has lysine rather glutamine in 6th position as in β-globin of
HbA One in 12 Blacks worldwide carries the SCA trait. About 1 in
400 has SCA. About 75% of global SCAs are in Africa. About
150,000 SCA cases are born yearly in Nigeria. The carrier
frequency ranges between 10% and 40% across equatorial Africa,
decreasing to 1-2% in north Africa and <1% in South Africa .
Islands and countries in Mediterranean area and the Middle East
(1) HbSβ 0 or β (2) -Thalassemia (3) -Thalassemia (4) HbCβ 0 or
β + (5) SCA These islands and countries including Turkey have
significant cases of SCDs and thalassemias. Saudi Arabia has a
yearly rate of 3,000 newborns. Qatif City has the highest rate
[7, 8]. (1) SCA (2) -Thalassemia (3) HbCβ 0 or β + (4) Other
SCDs About 72,000 persons in the US have SCA, mostly African-
Americans at the rate of 1 in 500 newborns as against 1 in 1,
200 for Hispanic-American birth