ArticleBMC medicine2022
Probing SARS-CoV-2-positive plasma to identify potential factors correlating with mild COVID-19 in Ghana, West Africa.
Article in BMC medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reduced COVID-19 severity in Africa: a systematic review of host genetic and immunological responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Phenotypic and Allelic Frequencies of ABO and Rh(D) Blood Antigens in Ghana: A Systematic Review.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2024Pooled it
- A narrative review of the epidemiological and mechanistic associations between ABO blood groups and diseases: focusing on cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, malaria, COVID-19 and rheumatic diseases.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- JAK-STAT and IL-17 pathway dysregulation underlies persistent immune dysfunction in ART-experienced people living with HIV in Ghana.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- A narrative review of heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes and vaccine efficacy: strategizing pandemic preparedness in Africa.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Rethinking the evidence on COVID-19 in Africa.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2025Review
- Article
- COVID-19 inflammatory signature in a Mozambican cohort: unchanged red blood series and reduced levels of IL-6 and other proinflammatory cytokines.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Cellular immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and clinical presentation in individuals exposed to endemic malaria.Cell reports · 2024Article
- Upper Airway Epithelial Tissue Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Immune Signatures Associated with COVID-19 Severity in Ghanaians.Journal of immunology research · 2024Article
- Immunological insights into COVID-19 in Southern Nigeria.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Article
- Epidemiological overlaps in COVID-19 and malaria within healthcare and community settings of Southern Ghana.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Development of an Affordable ELISA Targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid and Its Application to Samples from the Ongoing COVID-19 Epidemic in Ghana.Molecular diagnosis & therapy · 2023Article
- Negative association between ascaris lumbricoides seropositivity and Covid-19 severity: insights from a study in Benin.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWest Africa has recorded a relatively higher proportion of asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases than the rest of the world, and West Africa-specific host factors could play a role in this discrepancy. Here, we assessed the association between COVID-19 severity among Ghanaians with their immune profiles and ABO blood groups.
methodsPlasma samples were obtained from Ghanaians PCR-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive individuals. The participants were categorized into symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. Cytokine profiling and antibody quantification were performed using Luminex™ multiplex assay whereas antigen-driven agglutination assay was used to assess the ABO blood groups. Immune profile levels between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups were compared using the two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test. Multiple comparisons of cytokine levels among and between days were tested using Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn's post hoc test. Correlations within ABO blood grouping (O's and non-O's) and between cytokines were determined using Spearman correlations. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of various cytokines with asymptomatic phenotype.
resultsThere was a trend linking blood group O to reduced disease severity, but this association was not statistically significant. Generally, symptomatic patients displayed significantly (p < 0.05) higher cytokine levels compared to asymptomatic cases with exception of Eotaxin, which was positively associated with asymptomatic cases. There were also significant (p < 0.05) associations between other immune markers (IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1Ra) and disease severity. Cytokines' clustering patterns differ between symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. We observed a steady decrease in the concentration of most cytokines over time, while anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels were stable for at least a month, regardless of the COVID-19 status.
conclusionsThe findings suggest that genetic background and pre-existing immune response patterns may in part shape the nature of the symptomatic response against COVID-19 in a West African population. This study offers clear directions to be explored further in larger studies.
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