A new study has found that people with type A blood might be more prone to getting infected with the novel coronavirus. Those people who have type O seem to be more resistant.
Researchers from the Centre for Evidence-Based and Translational Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University conducted a preliminary study of patients in China who contracted the disease known as Covid-19.
They took the blood group patterns of more than 2,000 patients infected with the virus in Wuhan and Shenzhen and compared them with the local population that was healthy. They found that people with blood type A showed a higher rate of infection and they also tended to develop more severe symptoms.
People will type A blood are more prone to getting infected with coronavirus and can even develop severe symptoms.
Of 206 patients who had died from Covid-19 in Wuhan, 85 had type A blood, which was 63 percent more than the 52 with type O. The pattern existed across different age and gender groups.
“People of blood group A might need particularly strengthened personal protection to reduce the chance of infection,” reported the South China Morning Post. “Sars-CoV-2-infected patients with blood group A might need to receive more vigilant surveillance and aggressive treatment.”
Lead researcher Wang Xinghuan wrote that the blood group of the person should also be mentioned as it will help in diagnosis and treatment.
He said, “It might be helpful to introduce ABO blood typing in both patients and medical personnel as a routine part of the management of Sars-CoV-2 and other coronavirus infections, to help define the management options and assess risk exposure levels of people.
The study has been published in the journal Medrxiv however it has not been peer-reviewed as yet. The researchers also warn that using this study as a guide can be risky.
Gao Yingdai, a researcher with the State Key Laboratory of Experimental Haematology in Tianjin who was not involved in the study, spoke to South China Morning Post and said the new study could be helpful for medical authorities but common people should not take it seriously.
She also said “If you are type A, there is no need to panic. It does not mean you will be infected 100 per cent. If you are type O, it does not mean you are absolutely safe, either. You still need to wash your hands and follow the guidelines issued by authorities.”
Updated Date: Mar 20, 2020 14:29:58 IST
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