Fake blood is seen in test tubes labelled with the coronavirus (COVID-19) in this illustration taken March 17, 2020.
According to a study by Chinese academics it was found that people with Blood Type A are significantly more prone to coronavirus compared to those those with Blood Type O.
The study that was done in Wuhan, the ground zero of the outbreak, also found that people with Blood Type A are more likely to die from the disease.
Generally, Blood Type O composes more of the population at 34% compared to those with Blood Type A which is only 32% of the population. However, it was observed that 41% of COVID-19 patients have Type A blood while only 25% have Type O blood.
Two thousand one hundred seventy-three (2,173) people who have been diagnosed with coronavirus were assessed by Chinese researchers for the study. The number includes 206 people who have died after contracting the diseases from three hospitals in Hubei Province.
Of the 206 subjects in the study who dies, 85 people had blood type A which accounts for 41% of the deaths. While 52 out of the 206 subjects who died have blood type O which is about 25% of the deaths.
It also showed that patients with blood type A tended to develop more severe symptoms.
Researchers suggest to consider blood type differences in COVID-19 Mitigation.
Although the researchers admit that the study is still premature and there is still more work needed to prove the findings, they are still urging the governments and medical facilities to consider the differences in blood type in the planning of mitigation measures and treatments that are being developed for COVID-19.
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According to the researchers from the Centre for Evidence-Based and Translational Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University led by Wang Xinghuan, people who belong to the type A blood group need strengthened personal protection in order to reduce their susceptibility to infection.
Furthermore, it was also noted that COVID-19 patients in the blood group A might need to receive more aggressive treatment and should be vigilantly monitored. In contrast to this, those who belong in the type O blood group have significantly lower risks for the infectious disease.
Correlation between Blood Types and COVID-19 is yet to be proven.
A person's blood type is determined by the presence or absence of a particular antigen on the surface of the red blood cell. An antigen is a material on the surface of the RBC which can trigger an immune response.
However, according to a researcher with the State Key Laboratory of Experimental Haematology in Tianjin, Gao Yingdai, the study about the correlation of blood types and the coronavirus infection is yet to be scrutinized by other academics in the field, however, the researchers are still unable to explain the reason between the variation of infection within different blood types.
Furthermore, Gao also said that the study may be helpful to those who are in the medical field, however, he has warned ordinary citizens to not take the statistics seriously. He also noted that people with blood type A should not panic since it does not mean that there is a 100 % chance that you will contract the virus. In the same way, it does not mean that those with blood type O are absolutely safe.
Gao advised that people should still take the necessary precautions like proper handwashing and cough-sneeze etiquette despite their blood types.
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