Delicat-Loembet L. M. auteur aut IRD Elguero Eric auteur aut IRD Arnathau C. auteur aut IRD Durand P. auteur aut IRD Ollomo B. auteur aut IRD Ossari S. auteur aut IRD Mezui-Me-Ndong J. auteur aut IRD Mboro T. M. auteur aut IRD Becquart Pierre auteur aut IRD Nkoghe D. auteur aut IRD Leroy Eric auteur aut IRD Sica L. auteur aut IRD Gonzalez Jean-Paul auteur aut IRD Prugnolle Franck auteur aut IRD Renaud F. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an important cause of death in young children in Africa, which the World Health Organization has declared a public health priority. Although SCD has been studied at the continental scale and at the local scale, a picture of its distribution at the scale of an African country has never been given. The aim of this study is to provide such a picture for the Republic of Gabon, a country where precisely the epidemiology of SCD has been poorly investigated. To this effect, 4250 blood samples from persons older than 15 were collected between June 2005 and September 2008 in 210 randomly selected villages from the nine administrative provinces of Gabon. Two methods were used to screen Sickle Cell Trait (SCT) carriers: isoelectric focusing (IEF) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). SCT prevalence in Gabon was 21.1% (895/4249). SCT prevalence was significantly larger for the Bantu population (21.7%, n = 860/3959) than for the Pygmy population (12.1%, n = 35/290), (p = 0.00013). In addition, the presence of Plasmodium sp. was assessed via thick blood examination. Age was positively associated with SCT prevalence (odds-ratio for an increase of 10 years in age = 1.063, p = 0.020). Sex was not associated with SCT prevalence. The study reveals the absence of homozygous sickle-cell patients, and marked differences in SCT prevalence between the Gabonese provinces, and also between population groups (Bantu vs Pygmy). These findings could be used by the public health authorities to allocate medical resources and target prevention campaigns. specialized Sickle Cell Disease Pygmy Bantu Gabon Ecology Evolution GABON 050 106 020 25 52-56 2014 1567-1348 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010062233 10.1016/j.meegid.2014.04.003 1567-1348 [F B010062233] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010062233 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2014/07/010062233.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2014-07-24 2017-08-23 fdi:010062233 fre