ABO/Rhesus blood group systems and malaria prevalence among students of the University of Dschang, Cameroon.

Background: A study was carried out on students of the University of Dschang, Cameroon, to examine the relationship between ABO blood group, rhesus factor and prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection.

Materials and methods: Blood group and rhesus factor were typed by agglutination using antisera while malaria infection was determined using Rapid Diagnostic Test CareStart malaria HRP2 pf. Out of 620 students 582 were screened for ABO blood group and Rhesus factor, and 276 were tested for P. falciparum infection.

Results: Faculty of Science (FS) members and male students were highly represented, with 356 (61.2% ) and 303 (52.1%) participants, respectively. Blood group O was most common (48.8%), followed by blood group A (25.8%), B (23.0%) and AB (2.4%). Total percentage of rhesus positive was 92.4%, and its distribution varied across ABO blood groups. Of the 276 students examined for malaria infection, 27 were found positive (9.8%). Except for blood group AB individuals, of which none were infected, malaria infection did not vary among blood groups.

Conclusion: Rhesus factor and blood group did not impact on malaria infection in the hypo-endemic highland area of Dschang, Cameroon.