On this map, the distribution of sickle-cell anemia haplotypes among nations with high prevalence of the disease are shown. Five distinct beta-globin haplotypes (indicated by colors) are found in ...

Allison, A. C. The distribution of the sickle-cell trait in East Africa and elsewhere, and its apparent relationship to the incidence of subtertian malaria. Transactions of the Royal Society of ...

Sickle-cell disease, usually presenting in childhood, occurs more commonly in people (or their descendants) from parts of tropical and sub-tropical regions where malaria is or was common.

In 1949, British geneticist Anthony Allison found that the frequency of sickle cell carriers in tropical Africa was higher in regions where malaria raged all year long. Blood tests from children ...

Doctors noticed that patients who had sickle cell anemia, a serious hereditary blood disease, were more likely to survive malaria, a disease which kills some 1.2 million people every year.

Having red blood cells with haemoglobin S (HbS) makes people more resistant to infection with malaria. This is particularly an advantage to people with one sickle cell disease gene, who have an in ...