Table 1.
Distribution of Lewis, secretor, and ABO phenotypes in individuals with or without symptoms during the norovirus outbreak
| Saliva phenotype | Total number | Symptoms | No symptoms | P value1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | |||
| Lewis phenotype | ||||
| Lewis a | 10 | 1 (10) | 9 (90) | 0.007 |
| Lewis b | 72 | 40 (56) | 32 (44) | 0.17 |
| Lewis negative | 16 | 9 (56) | 7 (44) | 0.79 |
| ABO phenotype2 | ||||
| A | 32 | 17 (53) | 15 (47) | 0.82 |
| B | 13 | 8 (61) | 5 (39) | 0.77 |
| AB | 1 | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | N.A |
| O | 40 | 22 (55) | 18 (45) | 1.0 |
| Secretor status3 | ||||
| Positive | 86 | 48 (56) | 38 (44) | 0.014 |
| Negative | 12 | 2 (17) | 10 (83) | 0.014 |
1Fisher’s exact test with two-tailed significance
2Only analyzed for secretor-positive individuals
3Three saliva samples negative for α1,2 fucose (present in secretors) using UEA-1 agglutinin assay and negative for blood group antigens, exhibited small amounts of Lewis b in addition to Lewis a. These samples were classified as non-secretors