In a very small French study, researchers found that people with thalassemia under the age of 60 had higher rates of severe disease and hospitalization than the general population. The information in this story is accurate as of press time. For many people with alopecia areata, dietary changes and adding certain supplements can help manage and treat the condition. People with this condition will need frequent blood transfusions. Immune responses in beta-thalassaemia: heme - Scientific Reports The ways that a healthcare provider diagnoses thalassemia depends on the type of thalassemia you have. They may not live a normal lifespan. Can Being Heterozygous for the Beta-Thalassemia Trait Affect Your Pregnancy? At the current time, this is primarily an academic theory. Transfusion. Harewood J, et al. They agree that unless you have a very serious allergy to any of the vaccine ingredients, you should strongly consider getting the COVID-19 vaccine because some people with thalassemia have a higher chance of experiencing severe symptoms from COVID-19. Last medically reviewed on April 6, 2023. A temporary drop in hemoglobin levels was noted 3 months after vaccination. Beta thalassemia may protect against COVID 19. Newborn screening practices and alpha-thalassemia detection United States, 2016. When looking into thalassemia and COVID-19 risk, it's important to identify both the risk of potential exposure and susceptibility. Healthy Living with Thalassemia | CDC The most important thing you can do is make sure you are vaccinated and stay up to date on when boosters are needed. Vaccination can help prevent COVID-19 infection and prevent severe illness if you do. Everybody except for 1 of the 16 people in the study required regular blood transfusions. If you only receive the gene from one parent, you carry the trait for thalassemia. I declare no competing interests. There are some theories on why there could be a link: Your red blood cells are covered with molecules that are known as antigens, Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo, told Health. They often share similar symptoms but have different causes as well as different treatments and severity. This complication should be monitored and treated as it is for people with other forms of preexisting heart disease. The Link Between Blood Type and COVID-19 Risk - Health While the link between blood type and COVID-19 risk is still unclear, it's important to note that there have been links between blood type and diseases in the past. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Jean-Mignard E, et al. Current recommendations are that a person's usual regimen of transfusions should be continued during the pandemic. Many times people with thalassemia are prescribed a supplemental B vitamin, known as folic acid, to help treat anemia. Thalassemia Benefits. Med (Lausanne). If symptoms occur, theyre likely to be mild. Here's What You Need to Know, Omicron Infection Timeline: When Symptoms Start and How Long They Last. Beta thalassemia. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies You can still pass on the affected gene, but you wont experience any symptoms. The allergy can develop after a, This inherited blood disorder usually requires vitamin supplement. COVID19 in a pregnant patient with betathalassemia major: A case In a large Iranian study, the prevalence of COVID-19 in people with non-transfusion dependent thalassemia (those with the disease not dependent on transfusions) was much higher than in the general population (45 vs. 22.3 infections per 10,000 people). Early in the pandemic, two studies published in the Blood Advances journal in October 2020 showed a possible link between blood type and vulnerability to COVID-19. doi:10.2144/fsoa-2020-0110, Papadopoulos KI, Sutheesophon W, Manipalviratn S, Aw TC. Beta-Thalassemia Minor and SARS-CoV-2: Physiopathology, Prevalence, Severity, Morbidity, and Mortality. Thalassemia is a blood disorder in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin. (2022). Med Hypotheses. COVID-19. Impaired immune cell . The clues have been mounting . Herd immunity and COVID-19: What you need to know People with beta thalassemia may be immunosuppressed if they have impairment of spleen function or had their spleen removed. Can You Get a COVID Vaccine If You Have Beta Thalassemia? - Healthline But, overall, the link between blood type, genes, and infection risk is a growing area of research. Blood types can also serve as receptors for viruses and bacteria, and that could be another factor, explained Dr. Russo, there may be some other, completely different component of type O blood that works to prevent infection. They also indicate that haemochromatosis type 1 might confer some protection. The pandemic has been hard on everyone, especially those with chronic illnesses. However, certain issues, such as pneumonia and respiratory failure, blood clots, and heart-related complications, should be monitored for. 2023 Mar 2;24(5):4809. doi: 10.3390/ijms24054809. Learn more about its symptoms and how it's diagnosed. A recent study in the Lombardy region identified the positivity of anti-Covid-19 antibodies in 4.5 . Without enough hemoglobin, your red blood cells die more quickly, and your organs and tissues dont get enough oxygen. In a 2022 study, researchers found that people with beta thalassemia minor had a higher chance of dying from COVID-19 than people in the general population. Covid-19: Do many people have pre-existing immunity? | The BMJ Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder that is associated with a reduction in hemoglobin in red blood cells (RBCs) and, subsequently, insufficient oxygen reaching cells in . National Library of Medicine Li J, et al. Blood tests can also be used for . Objectives: Many patients with haemoglobinopathies, including thalassaemia and sickle cell disease, are at increased risk of developing severe complications from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Epub 2022 Jul 5. All rights reserved. Thalassemia: Understanding the Inherited Blood Disorder, What Hemoglobin Does and Why It Is Important, When Iron Deficiency Anemia Is Not What It Appears to Be, What to Know About Chronic Kidney Disease and COVID-19, What to Know About Sickle Cell Disease and COVID-19, Treatment of Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), Iron Chelation Preparations and Side Effects, What to Know About Parkinsons Disease and COVID-19, Alpha Thalassemia Types, Diagnosis, and Treatment, What to Know About Organ Transplants and COVID-19, A comprehensive update of ICET-A Network on COVID-19 in thalassemias: what we know and where we stand, COVID-19. If the synthesis from both genes is severely reduced or absent, the person has . Treatment may include regular blood transfusions. Regardless of if a specific blood type is associated with a greater risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe disease, keep in mind that many other factors, such as age or existing health conditions, are likely to play a larger, dominant role in determining personal risk from COVID-19. EHA and TIF Explore How COVID-19 Is Affecting Thalassemia and SCD Patients. Thalassemia Trait (Minor): How Does It Affect You? - Healthline Objectives: We studied 255 positive COVID-19 participants unvaccinated against severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), consecutively . 2023 Healthline Media LLC. Delaporta P, et al. Autosomal means the affected genes arent on sex chromosomes. With more research, we may one day have a clearer understanding of the connection between COVID-19 and different blood types. The types are beta thalassemia major, intermedia, and minor. We avoid using tertiary references. However, more epidemiological studies are required in the aim to obtain a strong signal. A 2022 study found that people with beta-thalassemia trait were also at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. -, Motta I, Migone De Amicis M, Pinto VM, et al. (2022). For adults who are immunocompromised, the CDC recommends: People with thalassemia were excluded from COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, so its unclear if vaccines are as effective for people with thalassemia as the general population. Splenectomy: When a person has a spleen removed for thalassemia, they are more likely to develop a secondary bacterial infection . Genetic testing is the only way to confirm whether you carry the gene. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. 2020;40(4):587-601.doi:10.1016/j.cll.2020.08.013, Hossain MS, Raheem E, Siddidqee MH. Careers. 2020 Oct;13(10):1081-1092. doi: 10.1080/17474086.2020.1819785. An exception is for people who have already begun the conditioning process for a stem-cell transplant. Folic acid can help red blood cells develop. Thalassemia - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic Lynne Eldrige, MD, is a lung cancer physician, patient advocate, and award-winning author of "Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time.". Eating nutritious foods is important for everyone to maintain a healthy lifestyle - a diet, high in fruits and vegetables and low in fats is ideal for gaining the essential nutrients our bodies need. SARSCoV2 infection in beta thalassemia: preliminary data from the Italian experience. Whats the outlook for people who have beta thalassemia? Summary document for interim clinical considerations for use of COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized or approved in the United States. When one of these two genes are missing, it can lead to beta thalassemia trait, or beta thalassemia minor. It's important to note that complications of thalassemia likely played a role in the severity of outcomes. You can also have both alpha- and beta-thalassemia. If you have one unaffected gene, it mostly overrides the faulty gene. You inherit two copies of each gene one from each parent so four in total. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 vaccination for people with beta-thalassemia or beta-thalassemia trait, rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/alpha-thalassemia/, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8703506/, rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/thalassemia-major/, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijlh.12527, hematology.org/covid-19/covid-19-and-thalassemia, thalassemia.org/i-have-a-thalassemia-trait/, journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0969141314548203, stemcellres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13287-022-02768-5, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7326097/, gimjournal.org/article/S1098-3600(21)02253-X/fulltext, cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html, nhlbi.nih.gov/health/thalassemia/pregnancy, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00404-022-06519-y, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8955557/, thalassemia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/WhatIsThalTrait_sm.pdf, Everything You Need to Know About Thalassemia. Karimi M, Haghpanah S, Zarei T, et al. People with beta thalassemia may be at a higher risk of developing severe disease or death, but studies are . Thalassemia is classified as alpha or beta depending on the part of hemoglobin your body isnt producing in adequate amounts. doi: 10.4084/MJHID.2023.007. Blood and Bone Marrow Genetic Disorders. Looking at a small sample group early on in the pandemic, the overall mortality rate of those with thalassemia from a COVID-19 infection was 18.6%, compared with a mortality rate of 4.71% in the general population. government site. Am J Hematol. Comparing serum ferritin levels during COVID-19 infection and recovery period in pediatric patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia, a single-center study. In a preprint review of studies from late July 2022, researchers examined how beta thalassemia minor affects outcomes of COVID-19. These antigens help prompt a response from your body's immune system. (Note: The overall mortality rate for COVID-19 is currently less than 1%.). This is the most important step in keeping you out of the hospital and alive. If the mutation affects two genes, you have alpha-thalassemia minor. 2023 Healthline Media LLC. Accessibility The prevalence among those who were transfusion dependent was roughly the same as people without thalassemia. (2022). There are two types of alpha-thalassemia trait. People having hematological disorders and hypercoagulability state need extra precautions because of the increased risk of thrombosis after COVID-19 vaccination. The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines use mRNA technology. A simple blood test known as a complete blood count (CBC) could suggest whether or not you have thalassemia trait. This condition is called anemia. Blood clots are fairly common with COVID-19, and many physicians view it as a disease of blood vessels. chenevex, France. There has also been a shortage at other steps in the process, such as personnel available to perform collections, as well as process and deliver donated blood. In late 2020, a team of researchers in the United States and Europe succeeded for the first time in using CRISPR to treat 10 people with sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. 2021;27:e929207. De Sanctis V, Canatan D, Corrons JLV, et al. Eur J Haematol. 5, 25, 26, 27 However, no details were provided as to the outcomes and course of the pregnancy in this . Here, experts weigh in on what you really need to know. In Italy there are about 5000 patients with dependent transfusion thalassemia (source Italian Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathies - SITE) and a smaller number, currently not definable, of patients with sickle cell anemia in chronic transfusion. People with thalassemia minor or trait usually do not need blood transfusions because they either do not have anemia or have only a mild anemia. As an example, on March 17, 2020, the Red Cross announced that their blood reserves were reduced by around 80% in the United States due to canceled donations and reduced distribution. Thalassemias. According to the CDC, people shouldnt get vaccinated if they have had a severe allergic reaction to a previous dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Shortness of breath is a common symptom of anemia. Vaccines & immunizations: Use of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. (2022). Sadly, the reduction in the blood supply has led many people with thalassemia to receive fewer transfusions than usual, prompting healthcare providers caring for people with the condition to look for options that may reduce the need for or frequency of transfusions. It can cause life threatening heart conditions, such as stroke. Theres no cure for Nijmegen breakage syndrome, but its complications can be treated. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to blood bank shortages, which have created challenges for people with transfusion-dependent thalassemia. Nutrition. 1 Platt L, Warwick R. Are some ethnic groups (2022). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). In a webinar designed to guide physicians in the care of hematology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, three world experts on thalassemia and sickle cell disease (SCD) provided on-the-ground information from physicians who were . Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. People who are moderate to severely immunocompromised may need additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to stay protected. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2020-0213. WHO COVID19 Dashboard. The researchers found that people with beta thalassemia minor had: However, the researchers didnt find statistical significance for any of these parameters, so no definitive conclusions can be drawn from the study. Future Sci OA. This is the most severe form of this disorder. The forgotten people with thalassemia in the time of COVID-19: South Asian perspective. Its considered safer to wait to begin gene therapy or prepare for a stem-cell transplant for thalassemia in communities currently affected by COVID-19. In that event, it's advisable that the therapy be stopped until the infection has cleared. Regular screenings are often recommended. Common COVID-19 treatments, including prone positioning (turning a patient on their stomach), non-invasive ventilation (oxygen delivered via a face mask), and intubation and mechanical ventilation (where a tube is inserted down the throat and a machine pumps air in and out of the lungs), may be needed depending on the severity. Some of these include: Secondary infections (bacterial infections that develop in people with a viral infection such as COVID-19) may be more common in people with thalassemia, especially those who have had their spleen removed. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It could be that antigens for people with type O blood block the spike protein in SARS-CoV-2, and keeps it from entering into your cells, said Dr. Russo. Richard N. Fogoros, MD, is a retired professor of medicine and board-certified internal medicine physician and cardiologist. Frequency of COVID-19 Antibodies in Patients With Hereditary That means getting vaccinated and boosted, social distancing, wearing a mask in public, and washing your hands regularly, among other things. There have been multiple studies on blood types and COVID-19 risk. Types include alpha and beta thalassemia. -. (2022). Thats because two genes, HBA1 and HBA2, are responsible for making hemoglobin alpha. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our. 2023 Dotdash Media, Inc. All rights reserved, Lynne Eldrige, MD, is a lung cancer physician, patient advocate, and award-winning author of "Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time. Guidelines for the Management of Transfusion Dependent Thalassaemia, 3rd ed. Methods: S124: Adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients. Orphanet J Rare Dis. The COVID-19 pandemic may affect both the treatment of thalassemia in general and how COVID-19 is treated in people with thalassemia who become infected. SARS-CoV-2 infection in beta thalassemia: Preliminary data - PubMed What is Thalassemia? | CDC "We all recognize that we're not the same, but we have not been able, on a genetic basis, very often, to determine whether certain people with certain genes are more or less susceptible to get an infection if they're exposed to a germ," said William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist, and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. (2022). A few options include: Current recommendations are that for people who have been treated with Reblozyl, the medication should be continued even if a person develops COVID-19 (there is no evidence that it should be stopped). Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus . (2023). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited. Al-Shamsi HO, Alhazzani W, Alhuraiji A, Coomes EA, Chemaly RF, Almuhanna M, Wolff RA, Ibrahim NK, Chua MLK, Hotte SJ, Meyers BM, Elfiki T, Curigliano G, Eng C, Grothey A, Xie C. Oncologist. This means you have lower levels of hemoglobin, which could result in mild anemia. Eur J Haematol. Within each of these types, the severity varies, from causing moderate to severe anemia to requiring frequent blood transfusions. Thalassemia is a medical condition in which the body makes less hemoglobin than usual. People with certain medical conditions. It causes anemia. Blood tests can reveal the number of red blood cells and abnormalities in size, shape or color. 2021;16(1):114.doi:10.1186/s13023-021-01757-w. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The causal virus behind this disease, SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), conceivably attacks the . The novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) is a contagious acute respiratory infectious disease whose causative agent has been demonstrated to be a novel virus of the coronavirus family, SARSCoV-2. Among people with thalassemia, little is known about long-term complications from COVID-19 at this time. Mark S. Lesney. The need for frequent blood transfusions and complications of the disease that result in more clinic visits and hospitalizations could raise the odds that someone would come into contact with the virus.