Sickle cell anaemia: A challenge for health education

SICKLE cell anaemia affects 1 in 400 black persons in Britain, yet although it is suffered by such a sizeable proportion of our community, it remains one of the medical conditions least understood by the general public. It was first identified in Chicago as long ago as 1910, but knowledge spread slowly in British medical circles, probably because until the 1940s there were only a handful of people at risk in this country. Nowadays it is essential for every doctor to have a good understanding of the whole range of diseases known as haemoglobinopathies*. Medical awareness is improving fast as the details of sickle cell disease are taught to medical students or are being presented at postgraduate seminars.