Blood Groups and Susceptibility to Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among β- Thalassaemia Patients

Background: Blood groups have revealed associations with a variety of diseases. However, most of these studies concerned general population and only few of them the potential relationship with viral hepatitis. Objective: To investigate the association of ABO and Rh blood groups with hepatitis C viral infection in β- thalassaemia patients. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted during 2014 at Thalassaemia Center. Hepatitis C ELISA test and blood groups of β- thalassaemia patients were recorded. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, version 20, was used to analyze data. Results: Total enrolled patients were 215, seropositive hepatitis C was evident in 24 (11.2%). The overall distribution blood groups among thalassaemia patients was compatible with that of general population. Regarding seropositive hepatitis C patients, most (n=20, 83.3%) were A and B blood groups, only 3 patients (12.5%) were O, and 1 patient (4.2%) AB. Therefore, hepatitis C was significantly associated with groups A and B and those who have group O were spared (p value .014). Most of patients were Rh D positive and no significant effect (p value .392) on hepatitis C could be found. Conclusion:In β- thalassaemia, most of the hepatitis C infected patients were blood groups A and B whereas blood group O patients seemed to be less susceptible or protected against this infection.