STUDY OF HAPLOTYPES OF THE HBB GENE IN SCHOOLCHILDREN IN VENEZUELA

A study of the frequency of hemoglobinopathies and haplotypes of the HBB gene was carried out in the populations of Araya and Manicuare Cruz Salmerón Acosta municipality Sucre state. Between the two populations a total of 289 peripheral blood samples of school boys and girls were analyzed 132 peripheral blood samples were randomly collected in the population of Araya and 157 samples in Manicuare. Hematological parameters (Hb Hcto CHCM VCM HCM) were analyzed by an automatic hematological analyzer. Peripheral blood samples were then analyzed by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate membranes at pH 8.6 to identify the hemoglobin variants present in the schoolchildren finding 6.2% (n=18) of hemoglobin variants in unrelated individuals and 93.8% (n=289) of individuals homozygous for Hb A.