G6PD MEDITERRANEAN ACCOUNTS FOR THE HIGH PREVALENCE OF G6PD DEFICIENCY IN KURDISH JEWS

The Jews of Kurdistan are a small inbred population with a high incide nce of beta-thalassaemia and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Recently, it was reported that the beta-thalassaemia in th is population shows an unusual mutational diversity; 13 different muta tions were identified, of which 4 had not previously been observed in any other population. In contrast, we now report that the G6PD deficie ncy, which has the highest known incidence in the world, and which aff ects about 70% of males, is almost entirely attributable to a single w idespread mutation, G6PD Mediterranean.