Investigation of blood group Rh and gender incidence in Anthrax patients

Investigation of Blood Group Rh and Gender Incidence in Anthrax Patients. Van Yuzuncu Yil University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Specialization Thesis, Van, 2025. Anthrax, caused by Bacillus anthracis, is a zoonotic infection that is particularly common among individuals involved in livestock farming. The aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of blood group and Rh factor in anthrax patients and evaluate the potential impact of these biomarkers on the diagnosis, prognosis, and susceptibility to infection. While the role of blood groups and Rh factor in infection susceptibility has been widely debated in the literature, this study provides a specific evaluation in the context of anthrax. This retrospective study was conducted on 100 patients diagnosed with anthrax and 25 healthy individuals without any infectious disease diagnosis at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Medical Faculty. Blood group and Rh factor data of the patients were obtained from the hospital database. The same method was used to collect blood group and demographic data for the control group. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS statistical software (IBM SPSS for Windows, ver.25), and a significance level of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study examined the distribution of blood groups and Rh factors in 100 anthrax patients and 25 healthy individuals. The findings revealed that A Rh (+) positive was the most common blood group in both the patient group (40%) and the control group (52%). In anthrax patients, A Rh (+) positive was followed by O Rh (+) positive (20%) and B Rh (+) positive (12%). In the control group, A Rh (+) positive was followed by O Rh (+) positive (20%) and O Rh (-) negative (12%). No statistically significant difference was found in the distribution of blood groups between the patient and control groups (p > 0.05). Additionally, no significant differences were observed in the distribution of blood groups based on gender or age. This study demonstrates that the incidence of blood group and Rh factor does not have a direct impact on the diagnosis or prognosis of anthrax. However, the role of blood groups in susceptibility to infections has been widely debated in the literature, and further research is needed to explore the relationship between these biomarkers and bacterial infections such as anthrax. Understanding the role of blood group and Rh factor in the pathogenesis of infections could provide valuable insights for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Therefore, future studies with larger sample sizes and prospective designs are recommended to enhance the knowledge in this field.