A survey of glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase deficiency in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon).

A high frequency of the G6PD deficient gene was detected in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. The frequency in the ancient villages is much higher than that of the recently colonised areas. The Sinhalese and Ceylon Moors have a significantly higher frequency as opposed to the Ceylon Tamils. The distribution appears to be related to a history of exposure to malarial endemicity.