People with blood group O ‘may be less vulnerable’ to COVID-19 complications

Temitope Alonge, coordinator of the isolation centres in Oyo state, says people with the blood group O may not suffer severe COVID-19 complications.

According to NAN, Alonge, a professor of orthopaedics and trauma, said blood group O, which is significantly represented among African populations, might explain why Nigeria has a relatively lower COVID-19 death rate.

“Many Africans have blood group O. This may explain why the severity of COVID-19 infections is low in Nigeria. This is apart from the availability of Vitamin D from sunshine,’’ he said.

Alonge’s position is also contained in a recent study published in ‘The International Journal of Transfusion Medicine’, titled “Association of the ABO Blood Group with SARS‐CoV‐2 Infection in a Community with Low Infection Rate”.

The research, which was carried out by Taiwo Kotila, Temitope Alonge, Adeola Fowotade, Olufisayo Famuyiwa, and Adebola Akinbile, focused on 302 participants, and also notes that people with blood group A or AB, may also show more susceptibility to the virus.

“This study confirmed the association between ABO phenotypes and COVID‐19 infection and the severity of infection. It also confirms the protection of blood group O from infection. However, contrary to other studies, we found that individuals with blood groups B and AB were more susceptible to the disease,” the report reads.

“The higher prevalence of blood group O and the presence of beta haemolysins which are very potent are possible reasons for a lower infectivity by the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus and severity of the COVID‐19 disease in communities like ours.”

Alonge also noted that Oyo state is setting up a post-COVID infection clinic to monitor lingering post-COVID symptoms.

“From the findings we did and the extent of damage to the lungs, one thing we are trying to start now is a post-COVID clinic because most patients who have recovered have returned with diseases of the lungs and heart,” he said.

“This is not unexpected. If the damage to the lungs is because of pulmonary fibrosis, the stiff tissue makes it more difficult for the lungs to work properly and the heart works harder to overcome the stiffness.”

Oyo state has so far recorded 6,708 COVID infections and 110 deaths.