Analysis undertaken by AAFC, Canada on samples collected by NARI, Eritrea in Oct. 2010 has confirmed the presence of Ug99 lineage races TTKST and PTKST in Eritrea. Wolday et al (2011) report the findings in the journal Plant Disease. Both races have combined virulence for the widely deployed stem rust resistance genes Sr31 and Sr24. The two races differ only in their reaction to the Sr21 gene. This first confirmation of TTKST and PTKST in Eritrea is important because it represents further geographical spread of Ug99-related races. On the basis of observed occurrence and postulated migration routes of the original Ug99 (race TTKSK), the confirmed presence of TTKST and PTKST in Eritrea increases the possibility for range expansion out of Africa by crossing the Red Sea and into the Arabian Peninsula.