Genetic Disorders in the Indian Community of South Africa (Original Articles) (Report‪)‬

Some genetic disorders are ubiquitous, occurring in every ethnic group and in all geographical regions, while others show considerable ethnic and geographical specificity. In turn, the presence or absence of specific genetic disorders in a particular community has important implications for medical diagnosis, management and genetic counselling. The genetic disorders present in South Africa were first reviewed in 1976. (1) Thereafter, the heritable disorders in individual population groups in this country were recorded. These included the indigenous African population (2-4) and Afrikaner, (5,6) Greek (7) and Jewish communities.8 However, the genetic status of the Indian community in South Africa remains undocumented. The Indian group recently celebrated the 150th anniversary of their arrival in South Africa, and it is fitting that their genetic heritage should now be recorded. To address this hiatus, we analysed and present our personal experience and case records going back more than four decades.