ABO and Rhesus Blood Groups in Acute Puumala Hantavirus Infection

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Hematology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.
• Understanding factors influencing PUUV infection susceptibility and severity is crucial for public health.
• ABO and rhesus blood groups are known to affect susceptibility to certain infectious diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between ABO and rhesus blood groups and the susceptibility and severity of PUUV infection.
• To compare blood group distributions in PUUV patients with a healthy control population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 289 adult PUUV patients treated between 1982-2017.
• Comparison of patient blood group distribution with a large cohort of healthy blood donors (n=21,833).
• Assessment of disease severity based on acute kidney injury, thrombocytopenia, inflammation, capillary leakage, and hospital stay duration.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in ABO and rhesus blood group distributions were found between PUUV patients and healthy controls.
• Patients with non-O blood groups exhibited lower systolic blood pressure compared to blood group O patients.
• Minor variations in platelet and leukocyte counts were observed between blood groups O and non-O, with no significant differences in other severity markers.

Conclusions:

• Blood groups do not appear to be major determinants of susceptibility or severity in acute PUUV infection.
• Blood group O may be associated with a reduced risk of hypotension during PUUV infection.
• Further research may elucidate subtle associations between blood groups and specific clinical manifestations of PUUV.