Malaria Protection In Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficient Individuals In Bamenda Population Of Cameroon

Abstract

The high frequency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency gene in malaria endemic regions is believed to be due to the enzyme deficiency advantage against fatal malaria. However, the mechanism of this protection is not well understood and therefore was investigated by comparing differences in plasmodial parasitaemia, full blood count profile and the severity of clinical malarial symptoms of G6PD deficient and G6PD non–deficient cohort groups in the population. Our results showed that 10.4% (63/606) of those tested carried the G6PD deficiency gene. G6PD deficient heterozygous females and hemizygous males manifested significantly reduced (P