ABO Blood Group Type and Susceptibility to COVID-19 Infection

Authors

G. Rafael Fernandez-Botran, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USAFollow

Funder

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Abstract

Since December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has extended its reach over most of the world, infecting over four million people and causing well over 300,000 deaths so far.[1] A significant percentage of infected patients develop severe symptoms and life-threatening conditions. While COVID-19 infection can affect all ages, available evidence points to older age and pre-existing comorbidities, such as hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease, as important risk factors related to increased mortality rates.[2-4] Moreover, recent reports from China and the U.S. have suggested that susceptibility, and perhaps even mortality, to COVID-19 infection might be influenced by the ABO blood type. The purpose of the present minireview is to analyze the evidence published in the COVID-19 literature and to put it in the context of the existing knowledge about the association of blood group types and disease.

DOI

10.18297/jri/vol4/iss1/11

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Fernandez-Botran, G. Rafael (2020) "ABO Blood Group Type and Susceptibility to COVID-19 Infection," The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections: Vol. 4 : Iss. 1 , Article 11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18297/jri/vol4/iss1/11
Available at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/jri/vol4/iss1/11