The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has published a research paper indicating that people with AB and B blood groups were more susceptible to Covid-19 compared to other blood groups.
The research further said that people with ‘O’ blood group were the least affected by the virus and most of them remained asymptomatic or had very mild symptoms.
Additionally, the research report, which is based on a nationwide seropositivity survey conducted by CSIR, indicates that those who consume meat are more susceptible to Covid-19 than vegetarians. The high fiber content in the vegetarian diet was attributed to this difference in immune response.
A fibre-rich diet is also anti-inflammatory, which can prevent post-infection complications and even prevent the infection from manifesting itself.
With a sample size of over 10 thousand people countrywide, the data has been analyzed by a group of 140 doctors.
The survey also found that the highest number of infected came from the AB blood group, closely followed by the B blood group, while the O group people showed the lowest seropositivity.
GENETIC STRUCTURE MIGHT INFLUENCE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO COVID
Talking to India Today TV about this anomaly, Dr. Ashok Sharma, pathologist, Agra, said that everything depends on the genetic structure of a person. Giving an example, he said that people with Thalassemia are rarely affected by Malaria. Similarly, there have been several instances when the entire family got infected with Covid, but one member of the family remained unaffected. This is all due to the genetic structure.
Dr Sharma said that it is possible that people with O blood group have a better immune response against this virus compared to AB and B groups, although this research merits further and detailed study. This, however, does not mean that people with O blood group can let go of all Covid prevention protocols, as people with O blood group are not completely immune to the virus and are developing complications too.
TAKE THE SURVEY’S INFERENCES WITH A PINCH OF SALT
Commenting on this survey by CSIR, senior physician Dr. S K Kalra said that this is merely a sample survey and not a peer-reviewed scientific research paper. Dr Kalra added that the survey’s inferences need to be taken with a pinch of salt, as without a scientific understanding of why there was a difference in the infection rates of people with different blood groups, it would be too hasty to say anything about the so-called better immunity of people with O blood group.
In fact, Dr Kalra said, a larger sample size could even paint a different picture than this survey.
(Sources: India Today)
