The aim of this study was to evaluate the screening policies of cystic fibr
osis (CF) in the Jewish population. The prevalence of mutations that accoun
t for CF in Israel have been defined in the past by determining the frequen
cy of CF mutations in affected individuals. This study is a population-base
d study and is, therefore, different from previous patient-based studies. W
e found that the CF mutations D1152H, W1089X, and 405 + 1G --> A were prese
nt in some ethnic groups in which no CF patients carrying these mutations w
ere reported. These facts necessitate a reevaluation of the screening polic
y regarding the ethnic groups in Israel. We studied 9,430 healthy Jewish Is
raeli individuals of 36 countries of origin. The prevalence of CF mutations
was 1:19, 1:19, 1:28, and 1:42 for the Ashkenazi, Sephardi, North African,
and Eastern Jews, respectively. CF mutations were identified in 374 (4.0%)
individuals. These included 173 (46.3%) carriers of the W1282X mutation; 1
10 (29.4%) found to carry delF508; 23 (6.1%) who carried G542X; 22 (5.9%) w
ho carried 3849 + 10Kb (C --> T; 20 (5.3 %) who carried D1152H; 10 (2.7%) w
ho carried N1303K; 11 (2.9%) who carried 405 + 1G --> A; 4 (1.1%) who carri
ed W1089X; and one (0.3%) who carried S549R, No carriers were detected for
the 1717-1G --> A, G85E, and T360K mutations, which were tested for in 7,38
3, 1,558, and 41 individuals, respectively.