ABO Blood Group and Susceptibility to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

To the Editor: ABO blood group has been reported to influence susceptibility to the Norwalk virus and Helicobacter pylori infections.^1,2 The prevalence of H pylori infection in Taiwan is significantly higher in patients with blood group O than in those with other blood groups,³ possibly due to a reduced number of H pylori receptors in persons with group A or group B blood. We studied the relationship between ABO blood group and the development of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection in a group of health care workers who were exposed to an index SARS patient and who were not wearing any personal protective equipment.