Abnormal hemoglobins in Northwestern Mexico.

Blood samples from 9,929 individuals in Northwestern Mexico were assayed for abnormal hemoglobins (Hbs). alpha-thal, beta-thal, beta s and beta c traits, as well as rare abnormal Hbs were observed with variable low frequencies (0 to 0.45%). Eight out of eleven rare abnormal Hbs detected so far have been characterized: Three Hb Riyadh, one Hb J Georgia, one Hb Fannin-Lubbock, one Hb Chiapas and two Hb Tarrant. These results suggest that abnormal Hbs do not constitute a regional public health problem and reflect a wide ethnologic heterogeneity.