Dengue Fever Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dengue Fever, including details on symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, prevention.

Blood group AB is associated with increased risk for severe dengue disease in secondary infections.

Kalayanarooj S, Gibbons RV, Vaughn D, Green S, Nisalak A, Jarman RG, Mammen MP, Perng GC

Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, US Army Medical Corps-Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand.

Why certain individuals progress to severe dengue disease is unknown. In this study, blood groups associated with dengue disease were investigated. ABO phenotypes were identified by use of serum from 399 patients with dengue-virus infection who participated in a cohort study. ABO blood-group frequencies were similar in primary versus secondary dengue-virus infections. However, in secondary infection, individuals with blood group AB were likely to have dengue hemorrhagic fever grade 3 than either grades 1 and 2 combined (corrected P value, <.0001; odds ratio, 0.097 [95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.33]) or dengue fever (corrected P value, <.0001; odds ratio, 0.119 [95% confidence interval, 0.04-0.37]). To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating an association between ABO blood group and the severity of dengue disease.

Published 2 March 2007 in J Infect Dis, 195(7): 1014-7.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Dengue Fever Research Today. All Rights Reserved.