Blood Type A is Common in COVID-19 Cases, Study Suggests

Aug, 2020 - By SMI

The researchers used the JHU epidemic curves to assess both the number of deaths and infections for each nation involved in the study.

According to previous research, blood type might play an important role in driving the severity of the novel coronavirus (COVOD-19 outbreak). Moreover, some studies have shown that individuals with blood type O are protected against severe disease whereas individuals with blood type A may experience complications. However, some aspects of the global COVID-19 pandemic are still surprising epidemiologists. Meanwhile, scientists across the globe are racing to find an effective vaccine or treatment to cure the infection.

Previous work on enveloped viruses such as HBV, HCV, and HIV showed that the spread of the virus might be dependent on the ABO compatibility between the spreader and recipient they encounter. Now, a new study by the research team from the University of Ulm, Germany focuses on how the blood group distribution is linked to the epidemic mapped dynamics as shown by its geographic distribution. The research was published in July 2020 in the preprint server, medRxiv. During this research, the researchers used data collected from the World Health Organization to find the link between ABO blood types and the global pandemic.

The dynamics of any infectious disease are important in determining the spread. To date, the virus has infected more than 13,767,530 folks and killed more than 589,211 people across the world. However, the total number of infections is not yet known as it is still actively growing. Therefore, the team used the JHU epidemic curves to assess both the number of deaths and infections for each nation involved in the study. The research involved 6 geographic regions such as the Western Pacific, South East Asia, Europe, East Mediterranean, America, and Africa. The researchers found that individuals with blood type A are significantly more susceptible to the virus and their mortality rate is high.