Rotavirus infection and relationship between blood groups

INTRODUCTION: Rotavirus is currently one of the most common causes of acute gastroenteritis and dehydration in children worldwide. There are some clinical studies about the relationship between rotavirus gastroenteritis and histo-blood group antigens in different centers of the world, and results have been obtained. In this study, we aimed to explore the association of rotavirus gastroenteritis with histo-blood group antigens in children, if any present.
METHODS: This retrospective study included 208 patients. The rotavirus test was positive in stool examination of 208 cases included in the study. In the control group, 241 newborn babies born in the hospital delivery room between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2011, were included in the study. The blood groups of the cases were recorded by checking their medical records.
RESULTS: This study was conducted by looking at the blood group of 449 cases, 208 patient groups, and 241 control groups. It was determined that 90 of 208 cases were blood type A (43.3%). Statistically, it was determined that the patients and control groups having A blood group did not have a relationship with the prevalence of rotavirus gastroenteritis (p>0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis is still an important public health problem worldwide, especially in the first 3 years of age. In our study, in rotavirus-positive gastroenteritis, blood group A was found to be the highest with 43.3%, but no significant difference was shown when compared with the control group (p>0.05). While a significant relationship has been shown with the blood group in Rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis, there are also studies showing the opposite. Our study, including 208 cases, shows that rotavirus infection is not related to the blood group.