People with blood type A may be susceptible to certain strains of rotavirus infections, Science Daily reported on Sunday.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas have found that strains of the virus seem to find their way into human cells by recognizing antigens found in blood type A.
Rotavirus is most common cause of severe dehydration and diarrhea in infants, from which about half a million people die every year.
The strains of the virus known as P14 and P9 were observed to bind themselves to cells by via glycans (a sort of chain structures that consists of sugars linked together) with the type A Histo-blood group antigen.
Citation: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/ANN/Story/STIStory_789678.html
In East Asia, fortunetelling by blood types is popular, though scientific background is insufficient.
But, this study shows how often one is infected by a kind of virus depends on blood types. And, this can be a breakthrough in researching for physical difference in blood types.
