With a total of 1,039,922 cases and 55,170 deaths in the world, as of the writing, the new coronavirus is indeed no doubt worse than flu. No matter the age, race, the financial capacity, and the belief, everyone can be susceptible to it.
But did you know that though everyone can be at risk of this new coronavirus, some people, in particular, are way more defenseless as compared to others? The new study conducted in Shenzhen and Wuhan revealed that aside from old people and those who are suffering from underlying diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, some people can also be vulnerable to the pathogen depending on their blood type.
The outcome of the research was revealed after experts have gathered enough information from more than 2,000 patients inflicted by the virus. The information was then compared to another set of population, which was a group of healthy people.
"People of blood group A might need particularly strengthened personal protection to reduce the chance of infection", shared Wang Xinghuan of Centre for Evidence-Based and Translational Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University. The expert also emphasized the need for more aggressive and vigilant treatment and surveillance for those who have blood type A and have been tested positive of the virus, as reported by South China Morning Post.
Meanwhile, another study conducted by experts of the same country show people from group O has lesser risks of getting infected with the coronavirus as compared to other blood groups, as shared by China Plus. Researchers came up with this result after they found out that among the 206 patients that were considered casualties in Wuhan, only 52 of them have blood type O. This is regardless of their age and gender groups.
Gao Yingdai, a researcher with the State Key Laboratory of Experimental Haematology in Tianjin, said that though the results of the studies are promising, it is still important to conduct more research about it as there are some crucial limitations to the study. These include the small number of patients that were included in the research and the insufficient explanation regarding the molecular interaction of cells from different blood types to the coronavirus.
Experts remind everyone not to take the statistics revealed in these studies seriously as of now as it would surely cause panic especially to those who have blood type A. It also doesn't mean that people belonging to blood type O are safe already. Everyone should still be aware to follow the guidelines to protect themselves from the coronavirus. Washing your hands, and staying inside your homes are still the best way to combat it.
