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Association of ABO blood group and Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Dore Bafeno Area, Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Tewodros Zerihun, Abraham Degarege, Berhanu Erko
Number of views: 405
Objective: To assess the distribution of ABO blood group and their relationship with Plasmodium
falciparum (P. falciparum) malaria among febrile outpatients who sought medical attention at
Dore Bafeno Health Center, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A total of 269 febrile outpatients who
visited Dore Bafeno Health Center, Southern Ethiopia, were examined for malaria and also tested
for ABO blood groups in January 2010. The blood specimens were collected by finger pricking,
stained with Geimsa, and examined microscopically. Positive cases of the parasitemia were
counted. CareStartTM Malaria Pf/Pv Combo was also used to test the blood specimens for malaria.
ABO blood groups were determined by agglutination test using ERYCLONE® antisera. Data on
socio-demographic characteristics and treatment status of the participants were also collected.
Chi-square and ANOVA tests were used to assess the difference between frequencies and means,
respectively. Results: Out of a total of 269 participants, 178 (66.2%) febrile patients were found to
be infected with Plasmodium parasites, among which 146 (54.3%), 28 (10.4%), and 4 (1.5%) belonged
to P. falciparum, P. vivax, and mixed infections, respectively. All febrile patients were also tested
for ABO blood groups and 51.3%, 23.5%, 21.9% and 3.3% were found to be blood types of O, A, B
and AB, respectively. Both total malaria infection and P. falciparum infection showed significant
association with blood types (P<0.05). The proportion of A or B but not O phenotypes was higher
(P<0.05) in individuals with P. falciparum as compared with non-infected individuals. The chance
of having P. falciparum infection in patients with blood groups A, B and AB was 2.5, 2.5 and 3.3
times more than individuals showing blood O phenotypes, respectively. The mean P. falciparum
malaria parasitaemia for blood groups A, B, AB, and O were 3 744/µL, 1 805/µL, 5 331/µL, and
1 515/µL, respectively (P<0.01). Conclusions: The present findings indicate that individuals
of blood groups A, B and AB are more susceptible to P. falciparum infection as compared with
individuals of blood group O. Nevertheless, further in depth studies are required to clearly
establish the role that ABO blood group plays in P. falciparum malaria.