title: Frequencies and ethnic distribution of ABO and Rh(D) blood groups in Mauritania: results of first nationwide study.
abstract: There is no data available on the ABO/Rh(D) frequencies in the Mauritanian population. We retrospectively analysed records of a 5-year database that contained ABO/Rh phenotype and ethnic origin of 10 116 volunteers giving blood at the national blood transfusion centre to derive the frequencies of ABO/Rh(D) groups in the Mauritanian population. The two race categories in the country and their sub-ethnic groups: the Moors (whites and black) and the black Africans (Pulhars, Soninkes and Wolof) were included in this study. Globally, group O had the highest frequency (49.10%) followed by A (28.28%), B (18.56%) and AB (4.05%). This order more common in North African populations was found in four of the five ethnic groups composing our population. Allele frequencies were, respectively, 70.20%, 17.74% and 12.04% giving the same order of O > A > B. We observed no significant variation in these frequencies between the different ethnic groups. Rhesus study showed that with a percentage of 94.23% Rh(D) positive is by far the most prevalent, while Rh(D) negative is present only in 5.77% of the total population. This frequency distribution supports the mixed-race composition of the Mauritanian population.
authors: Centre National de Transfusion Sanguine (CNTS), Nouakchott, Mauritanie.
authors: C T
authors: CT
authors: Hamed
authors: M A
authors: MA
authors: Bollahi
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Abdelhamid
authors: M A
authors: MA
authors: Med Mahmoud
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Ba
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Ghaber
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Habti
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Houmeida
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D000483:Alleles; D001782:Blood Donors; D001788:Blood Grouping and Crossmatching / Q000379:methods; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008435:Mauritania / Q000208:ethnology; D010641:Phenotype; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System; C026410:Rho(D) antigen