Favism in the African type of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (A−)

Susceptibility to haemolytic anaemia after ingestion of fava beans has been investigated extensively in the Mediterranean, but favism has also been observed in other countries' including England,2 where variants of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase other than the Mediterranean variant have been responsible. In general, all patients have very low glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in red cells (<5% of normal activity). Favism is widely believed not to occur in subjects with the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase A variant, which has a higher residual activity (10-20% of normal) and is present mainly in people of African origin. We report on three patients with the A-variant who suffered typical attacks of clinical favism.