title: Blood group, secretor status, and susceptibility to infection by Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
abstract: To determine whether the presence or absence of anti-B isohaemagglutinin in individuals of blood group B increases their susceptibility to gonococcal infections 567 new patients attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic were screened for blood group and secretor status. Of the patients with blood group B, 20.1% had gonorrhoea and 12% had not. A higher percentage (20.9%) of patients with no anti-B isohaemagglutinin had gonorrhoea compared with those without (12.1%). There was, however, no synergy between the absence of anti-B isohaemagglutin and nonsecretion of water-soluble blood group B antigen. Further research is needed to determine the underlying host-parasite interactions responsible for the increased susceptibility to gonorrhoea in these individuals.
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000276:immunology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000097:blood*; D006388:Hemagglutinins / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007518:Isoantibodies / Q000032:analysis; D012463:Saliva / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D006388:Hemagglutinins; D007518:Isoantibodies