High rhesus (Rh(D)) negative frequency and ethnic-group based ABO blood group distribution in Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundKnowledge of the distribution of ABO-Rh(D) blood groups in a locality is vital for safe blood services. However, the distribution of these blood systems among Ethiopians in general is little explored. This study was, therefore, designed to determine the ABO-Rh(D) blood group distribution among patients attending Gambella hospital, southwestern Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted between November and December 2013 (N = 449). The patients were grouped into two broad categories. Those who originally moved from different parts of Ethiopia and currently residing in Gambella are named ‘highlanders’ (n = 211). The other group consisted of natives (Nilotics) to the locality (n = 238). ABO-Rh(D) blood groups were typed by agglutination, open-slide test method, using commercial antisera (Biotech laboratories Ltd, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK).ResultsOverall, majority of the participants (41.20%) had blood type ‘O’ followed by types ‘A’ (34.96%), ‘B’ (20.48%) and ‘AB’ (3.34%). However, blood type ‘A’ was the most frequent (44.07%) blood group among the ‘highlanders’ and 50.42% of Nilotic natives had type ‘O’. The proportion of participants devoid of the Rh factor was 19.37%.ConclusionsWhile the ABO blood group distribution is similar to previous reports, the Rh(D) frequency is much higher than what was reported so far for Ethiopia and continental Africa.

Frequency of ABO/Rhesus (D) blood groupings and ethnic distribution in the Greater‐Accra region of Ghana, towards effective blood bank inventory

“…The predominance of the O phenotype observed in this study is common in other African populations, but there are some slight differences in the distribution of A and B phenotypes. The ABO distribution formula, O > A>B > AB, has also been reported from similar studies in other African countries (Apecu, Mulogo, Bagenda, & Byamungu, ; Golassa, Tsegaye, Erko, & Mamo, ; Hamed et al, ; Tagny, Fongué, & Mbanya, ; Tesfaye, Petros, & Andargie, ;). From studies reported so far from Africa, it is observed that the frequency of blood group A or B may be similar or show only marginal differences depending on the specific population in Africa.…”

“…This study therefore supports the possibility of variations of blood groups amongst various ethnic groups in a population. Similarly, Golassa et al () reported that phenotypes “O” and “A” were dominant amongst the Nilotic natives and “highlanders,” respectively, within the population of Gambella Town in Ethiopia. Rhesus frequency distribution amongst the various ethnic groups was similar and had a comparable trend with the general population.…”

“…Again, the study compared with other findings and confirms the trend of low incidence of rhesus negativity in the African populations. For example, there are reports of a 6% rate of Rh‐negatives in Nigeria and only 1% in Madagascar (Golassa et al, ). The frequency distribution of Rh +ve group and Rh −ve group is different in other countries, for example, in Britain and USA where the frequency of Rh −ve group is reasonably high (17% and 15%, respectively), compared to other regions (Singh, Srivastava, Deogharia, & Singh, ).…”

“…Similar studies conducted elsewhere agree with the high proportion of O+ and the low incidence of AB− observed in our study. For example, the formulas O+ > A+ > B+ > AB+ > O− > B− > A− > AB− (Shrestha et al, ), O+ > A+ > B+ > AB+ > A− > O− = B− > AB− (Liu et al, ), O+ > A+ > B+ > AB+ > O− > A− > B− > AB− (Ndoula et al, ) and O+ > A+ > B+ > O− > A− > B− > AB+ > AB− (Golassa et al, ) have been reported for a Nepalese, Chinese, Cameroonian and an Ethiopian population, respectively. Contrary to this, two studies in India reported a predominance of B+ in their populations: B+ > O+ > A+ > AB+ > B− > A− > O− > AB− (Garg et al, ) and B+ > O+ > A+ > AB+ > B− > O− > A− > AB− (Singh et al, ).…”

Gene Frequencies of Haemoglobin Genotype, ABO and Rhesus Blood Groups among Students Population of a Private University in Nigeria-Implications for Blood Banking

“…Beyond Nigeria, our findings agree with the findings of other investigators who reported similar patterns of gene frequencies for ABO blood groups in Uganda [14] , Ethiopia [26] , Tanzania [27] , Saudi Arabia [28] and Brazil [29] respectively. Our findings differ from one Pakistani study [30] and another India study [15] .…”