Incidence of Sickle Cell Disease and Other Hemoglobinopathies in Burkina Faso: Results of a Five-Year Systematic Neonatal Screening (2015-2019) in Four Urban Hospitals

Hemoglobinopathies, mainly Sickle cell disease (SCD), are the most common monogenic disorders in Africa. In Burkina Faso, data on these diseases are scarce, mainly hospital-based in Ouagadougou and its surroundings. In order to assess the incidence and allelic frequencies of the main hemoglobinopathies in newborns in Burkina Faso, we conducted a cross-sectional study from 2015 to 2019 in four hospitals. The study included babies of both sexes, regardless of ethnic group and parents’ hemoglobin status. It was a newborn screening and hemoglobin variants were detected using isoelectric focusing on cord blood samples and confirmed using hemoglobin electrophoresis by high-performance liquid chromatography. The proportions and cumulative incidences of the different hemoglobinopathies were computed. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium law was applied to calculate genotypic and allelic frequencies. The significant level was p < 0.05. Out of 11,337 newborns included, 47.8% were males and 60.2% were from Bobo-Dioulasso. Abnormal hemoglobin was found in 27.1%, representing a cumulative incidence of 1:4 newborns. The incidence of SCD was 1.9% (1:53 newborns) with 27.9% of homozygous SS. Homozygous CC and compound heterozygous Cβ-Thalassemia accounted for 1.1%. SCD cases were 1.51 times higher in Bobo-Dioulasso (OR = 1.51; 95% CI [1.09 - 2.10]: p = 0.013). The observed genotype frequencies were significantly different from the expected ones (p < 0.001). The βS and βC alleles represented 5.1 and 9.9%, respectively. This study showed a high incidence of hemoglobinopathies. Such results raise the question of control strategies for these hemoglobinopathies in our country.