ABSTRACT
In the hilly regions of Peninsular India malaria is holoendemic, and it seems to be more severe among the tribal peoples who practice slash-and-burn agriculture. In the Nilgiri Hills the Todas, Kotas, and Badagas have low hemoglobin S frequencies, while the Paniyans, Irulas, and Kurumbas have higher frequencies. The one area of southern India where hemoglobin E has been found is Ceylon. The great majority of Ceylonese populations do not appear to have high frequencies of any hemoglobin variant. the findings of an occasional Nepalese with hemoglobin E may indicate that some Nepalese populations in endemic malarious regions have rather high frequencies of this abnormal hemoglobin. From Bombay north through Gujerat, hemoglobin S is found in high frequencies, but only in the tribal peoples or small isolated populations that have endemic. In the absence of one of the more successful hemoglobin variants one would expect to find many different mutants being increased slightly.
