The Chief Medical Science Laboratory, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Barnawa, Kaduna, Abdullahi Musa Maikano has said 40million Nigerians currently live with sickle cell diseases .
The medical expert also said the figure place Nigerian as the highest country with sickle cell cases in the world.
Maikano also revealed that 150,000 babies are born with sickle cell diseases in Nigeria annually.
Maikano who disclose the figure on Wednesday during a meeting organised by a Kaduna-based non-governmental organization, Bako Youth Development Foundation, to mark this year’s World Sickle Cell disease day celebration.
“About 40 million Nigerians are living with sickle cell disease and 150,000 babies are born annually, making it the worst in the world.
“We need more awareness. People need to get tested before having anything close to marriage together,” he warned.
Founder, Bako Youth Development Foundation, Andy Bako said sickle cell could be addressed if young Nigerians make efforts to know their genotype before they plan to get married.
He said the world was celebrating sickle cell disease to show solidarity for people in this category.
Research revealed that about 25% of adults throughout the country have the sickle celltrait, AS, while the Hb C trait is largely confined to the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria in whom it occurs in about 6%. … Of a total of 5.4 million expected livebirths in 1988, about 90,000 will have SCD and 1.1 million the trait, AS.
