Nearly half the world's population is at risk of malaria, one of the most deadly diseases known to humankind. Each year it claims over 400,000 lives, most of whom are children younger than age five. While it's possible to vaccinate against malaria, virtually all of these cases are in the African region, where protection is often nothing more than a roll of the dice. Now, a recent analysis of 23 papers suggests those with blood type O have the genetic odds stacked in their favour. In sub-Saharan Africa, where severe malaria - caused by the Plasmodium falciparum parasite - is endemic, there are far more individuals with blood type O than anywhere in Europe or the US. In Nigeria alone, where 97 percent of the country is at risk of malaria, more than half the population belongs to this blood group. In Ethiopia and many others, the numbers are similar. Rather than a coincidence, co-author and epidemiologist Abraham Degarege Mengist from ...
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