India is one of the biggest countries with a population of 1.3 billion, but with a high population comes a high percentage in disease specifically sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia’s history goes as far back as 1846, since numerous discoveries have been made in understanding how sickle cell manifests. Therefore Dr. Herrick in 1910 was the first to distinguish the “pelicular elongated and sickle shaped” platelets (Vasaikar, 2015). While in 1949 sickle cell was identified as an autosomal recessive genetic inheritance, which found a single amino acid substitution in the hemoglobin molecule, a mutation in the sixth residue of B-globin chain (Colah, 2015); basically within the sequences valine is substituted for glutamic …show more content…
The most obvious sign is anemia. Since the cells are so fragile and only last a few days within the body there is not a good supply of oxygen which then causes the patient to become fatigued. Also just like with any disorder there is an unexpected amount of pain, some referred to as a “crisis” or periodic pain (Vasaikar, 2015). The crisis refers to the sickle cell shaped RBC blocking a blood vessel causing backflow in the chest, abdomen or joints. The pain felt by patients can last from few hours to weeks. Swollen hands and feet may also occur due to the blockage causing edema due to the restricted blood flow from a blockage. Infections can also become frequent, the spleen plays a big role not only in fighting infection but producing RBCs, therefore the spleen in sickle cell patients are linked to the disorder since the output of (Brousse, 2014). Other signs arise from either anemia or blockage includes vision problems, fever, pale skin, jaundice, or numbness; as a result clinical symptom checks are highly important (Health and Quality, …show more content…
Daniels mother lets him stay home from school for a few days due to what she believes is a fever. But as she checked on him around dinner she notices he’s a little pale, swelling around his hands, and increased coughing. Having a cause for concern Daniel is rushed to the hospital where a CBC reveals a low hemoglobin count. When a blood smear is observed, there are numerous elongated RBC. When examining Daniels background, his mother discloses that a blood disorder has ran in the family for years but never been diagnosed since they live in an Indian village fifty miles away. Therefore based on the CBC, Blood smear, and family medical and nationality Daniel has inherited the genetic blood disorder of sickle cell