Modelling suggests ABO histo-incompatibility may substantially reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

ABSTRACT: Several independent datasets suggest blood type A is over-represented and type O under-represented among COVID-19 patients. However, blood group antigens appear not to be conventional susceptibility factors in that they do not affect disease severity, and the relative risk to non-O individuals is attenuated when population prevalence is high. Here, I model a scenario in which ABO transfusion incompatibility reduces the chance of a patient transmitting the virus to an incompatible recipient - thus in Western populations type A and AB individuals are "super-recipients" while type O individuals are "super-spreaders". This results in an offset in the timing of the epidemic among individuals of different blood types, and an increased relative risk to type A/AB patients that is most pronounced d

SUBMITTER: Ellis PJI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7919530 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature