Some red cell antigens in the Hausa population of northern Nigeria.

The A, B, O, D, Du, C, c, E, e, M, N, S, s, Kell and Duffy antigens were determined on 190 blood samples from Hausas in the north of Nigeria. The highest gene frequencies in the rhesus system were cDe (0.648) and cde (0.176). Su gene frequency was 0.270. The great majority of subjects were Kell negative (98.9%) and Duffy negative (98.8%). As the MNSs group determinants are carried by glycophorins, which are also receptor sites for Plasmodium falciparum, and the Duffy antigen marks the receptor for P. vivax, the present study provides data of interest in the epidemiology and genetics of malaria.