Results of a detailed clinical and laboratory study of 37 Nigerian patients with chronic discoid lupus erythematosus are presented. Patients with chronic discoid lupus erythematosus constituted 0.46% of all out-patients seen in the skin clinic between May 1974 and December 1977. A preponderance of females was noticed (female/male ratio of 5:1), while the age distribution of African patients corresponded to values characteristic for the condition seen in other geographical regions. Several morphological types of the condition have been seen. The vitiligoid variant of chronic discoid lupus erythematosus seems to be common in West Africans. Sixteen out of 37 patients presented laboratory abnormalities considered as markers of the association between chronic and systemic lupus erythematosus. Their significance, however is, uncertain as it has been demonstrated on several occasions that in a tropical milieu heavy parasitic infections produce marked immunological disturbances. The problem of the relationship between chronic and systemic lupus erythematosus is discussed and the literature on the incidence of chronic discoid lupus erythematosus in various African countries is reviewed.

The post-vaccination antibody response to both Group A and Group C meningococcal polysaccharide antigen was studied in 397 male and 359 female vaccinated persons aged between 4 and 40 years from Bauchi Town and neighbouring villages in Nigeria. No difference in response was observed between the sexes. Highest antibody levels occurred in those aged between 13 and 28 years. Haemoglobin genotype did not affect response. Malnourished children had significantly lower mean IgG, IgA and IgM levels and the response to meningovaccine was also lower than in normal children.

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