Sickle cell anemia and beta-globin gene cluster haplotypes in Colombia

We studied 46 unrelated sickle cell anemia patients from the western region of Colombia which has the largest Black population of the country. Twenty- three children and 23 adults were studied. The distribution of haplotypes i n the children was 58% Bantu, 38% Benin, and 4% Senegal, and in the adults it was 59.4% Santu, 35.1% Benin, and 5.5% Senegal (p = 0.920). All 92 chrom osomes had typical African haplotypes, Bantu 55.5%, Benin 34.8%, Senegal, 4 .3%, and Cameroon, 5.4%. Our results suggest a lack of differential surviva l among patients with sickle cell anemia and typical P-globin gene cluster haplotypes. They also agree closely with historical data that indicate that most African slaves brought to Colombia originated from Angola (Bantu popu lation) and the Sao Thomo Island in the Eight of Benin (Central West Africa ).