The populations of two Western Desert Egyptian oases have been studied for various genetic markers of the blood and some anthropological characters. Hb AS was found in 9%. Blood group frequencies were similar in both oases; 10.2% were RhD-negative, G-6-PD deficiency was found in 7.5 %; Gd^A had a frequency of 1 % in El-Kharga and 16% in El-Dakhla; PGDC was 5.5% in El-Kharga and 6.2 % in El-Dakhla. All individuals examined were homozygous for AK¹; acid phosphatase gene frequencies in El-Kharga were P^a = 0.1475, P^c = 0.0164, P^r= 0.0164; in El-Dakhla, P^a = 0.0667, P^c = 0.00, P^r = 0.0333; in El-Kharga the Hp gene had a frequency of 0.4415, Hpo-o = 8.29%; in El-Dakhla, Hp¹ had a frequency of 0.3245, Hpo-o = 3.39%. The information provided points to a mixture of Caucasian and negroid features in the populations studied. The negroid influence is more marked in the El-Dakhla oasis. Head measurements show that El-Kharga males reveal more Caucasoid stock and are closer to the Upper Egyptians than most populations of the neighboring oases.

Anthropological studies were done on 1276 Libyans from the Mediterranean cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, and from Sabha southward in The Sahara. The incidences of hemoglobin (Hb)-S and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency were low in the coastal areas and significantly high in Sabha. Hb-C occurred sporadically in Tripoli and Sabha, and was absent from Benghazi in the east. One case of Hb-J Benghazi was noted. There were no sigificant differences in the ABO blood group and Rh0 (D) type distributions in the three localities. G-6-PD gene GdAfrequency was significantly high in Sabha. The lowest value of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGD) gene PGDA frequency and highest value of the gene PGDC were in Sabha. Adenylate kinase (AK) gene AK2 was only detectable in Tripoli. Acid phosphatase (AP) gene Pa frequency in Sabha was more than twice that in Tripoli and Benghazi, while pc was distinctly lower in Sabha than in the northern cities. Haptoglobin gene Hp1 frequency was almost identical in all areas. Anthropometric measurements revealed overall homogeneity of the three samples, closer similarity in the coastal region to adjacent North African populations, and Negroid influence in the Sahara Libyans. Anthropometry substantiated findings from blood markers.

Populations of Aswan governorate in Egypt have been studied with respect to blood, serum and enzyme groups as well as some other anthropological characters. One hemoglobin variant (Hb Khartoum) was detected in the Nubians. The ABO gene frequencies were: r = 0.66, p = 0.18 and q = 0.14 in Aswanese; r = 0.67, p = 0.22 and q = 0.10 in Nubians; RhD factor was positive in all Aswanese and Bisharins and negative in 1.4% of the Nubians; G-6-PD deficiency was 1.4% in Aswan city, 2% in Nubia and absent in Bisharins; Gd^A was 2% in Aswanese and 4% in Nubians; PGD^C in Aswanese was 6% and was absent in Nubians; all persons were AK_1· Acid phosphatase variants in Aswan city were: P^a 0.0976, P^b 0.8658, P^c 0.0244 and P^r 0.0122; in Nubia: P^a 0.1290, P^b 0.8387, P^c absent and P^r 0.0323; Hp¹ in Aswan city was 0.4300 and in Nubia 0.4000. The adult Nubians are characterized by a rounded head and a broad nose while the Bisharins differ from them in possessing a dolichocephalic head and narrower nose.

Summary. An investigation was undertaken to find the incidence of a-thalassaemia in Egypt. Blood was collected from the umbilical cords of 550 newborns and from 630 adults from central hospitals in Cairo that drain patients from all over Egypt.Starch gel electrophoreses at both pH 8-6 and 7.0, and brilliant cresyl blue incubation revealed the absence of haemoglobins Barts and H in the blood specimens examined.While much is known on the genetic, clinical, and chemical variations of the 3-thalassaemias and their combinations with other haemoglobinopathies, corresponding information on the a-thalassaemias is at best fragmentary and unclear.It is now an accepted fact that haemoglobins Barts and H result from a reduction of a-chain syn-