Every day, Le Parisien is mobilized to answer your questions around the coronavirus. Today, a question asked by many readers: "Which blood groups are most affected? " A questioning based on numerous messages transferred between friends affirming that the blood group O has less risk of contracting the disease.
This statement is based on a very real Chinese study, published on March 16 and then updated on March 27 on the scientific site MedRxiv. This is a preliminary study which cannot "in any case guide any clinical practice", warn the authors.
The tests were carried out on a sample of 2,173 patients affected by Covid-19 in three hospitals in two very large Chinese cities, Wuhan (11 million inhabitants) and Shenzhen (12.5 million). In the first, the cradle of the new coronavirus, the results show a "significantly" lower risk of being infected with the virus.
It is still too early
Out of 1,775 people tested positive in Wuhan, group A was far ahead (37.75%), groups B (26.42%) and O (25.8%) and AB (10.03%). And this while, in the region, out of 3,694 non-sick inhabitants, group O is the most represented (33.84%), ahead of the A (32.16%), the B (24.9%) and AB (9%). Similar findings were made on 113 other patients from another hospital in Wuhan and on 285 other patients in Shenzhen.
The first and only attempt at explanation lies in the manufacture of antibodies, these molecules generated by the body which strengthen its immunity. Those developed by group O and group B, which group A cannot generate, would form a first obstacle to Covid-19.
However, more studies must be conducted on the subject before it can be said that group O is less "sensitive" to the coronavirus. The approximately 5 million serological tests planned by France in the coming weeks could help provide a new answer.
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