Trait of thalassaemia and haemoglobin E in Surabaya, Indonesia

In order to assess the prevalence of the traits of alpha- and beta-thalassaemia as well as of haemoglobin E among Indonesians a survey was conducted in Surabaya, a city of over 3 million inhabitants in one of the most densely populated areas of Indonesia. 450 medical students representing healthy adults were examined with the following results: 18 persons (4%) harboured the beta-thalassaemia trait and 28 (6.2%) had the Hb E trait giving a gene frequency of 0.0202 and 0.0315, respectively. 10 persons (2.2%) had the alpha-thalassaemia trait.