ABO blood groups among Coronavirus disease 2019 patients

Introduction: Susceptibility to some infectious diseases has been associated with blood group phenotypes. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new infectious disease caused by a novel corona virus designated Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which has spread rapidly around the world. The objective of this study was to determine if the susceptibility or severity to COVID-19 was associated with ABO blood group distribution among the affected countries. Materials and methods: This retrospective study of COVID-19 disease was based on data from 105 countries collected on the 13th of April 2020 and analysed by SPSS software version 16.0. Spearman correlation coefficient and Kruskal Wallis test were used to assess for associations between ABO blood group with COVID-19. Results: The results indicated that individuals of blood group A are at increased risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2 virus and severity of COVID-19 disease. Blood groups B and O were less likely to be infected and the disease evolves less severe. Conclusions: The results are discussed in relation to the host-parasite interactions that might contribute to susceptibility to these infections.