Ethiopia is very interesting in terms of ancestry. A strong diversity has been shown in genetic testing linking Ethiopians to ancient Mesopotamians, Hebrews, Sumerians, Berbers, Arabs and Sub-Saharans. Aside from that there are strong clusters to Europeans. The question regarding the unique look of the Habesha people is being answered by their ancestries as well as which traits are passed on dominantly.
I have read claims that Falasha Jews in and from Ethiopia have very high percentages of rh negative amongst them, but didn’t get proof when requested, so I had to ignore this claim. Overall, several studies have shown the percentage of rh negatives in Ethiopia as being somewhere around 8 percent.
Until now!
According to a brandnew study regarding the ABO-Rh(D) blood group distribution among patients attending Gambella hospital, southwestern Ethiopia, the proportion of participants devoid of the Rh factor was 19.37%.
Could it be that the percentage is high due to the possibility that some illnesses are more likely contracted by rh negative individuals?
The distribution of blood systems among Ethiopians in general is little explored. So more studies and data are needed.
A cross-sectional study was conducted between November and December 2013 (N = 449). The patients were grouped into two broad categories. Those who originally moved from different parts of Ethiopia and currently residing in Gambella are named ‘highlanders’ (n = 211). The other group consisted of natives (Nilotics) to the locality (n = 238).
Regarding the ABO frequencies:
In addition, blood type ‘A’ was the most frequent (44.07%) blood group among the ‘highlanders’ and 50.42% of Nilotic natives had type ‘O’.
21.32 percent of the Ethiopians referred to as “highlanders” in this study were found to be rh negative and 17.64 percent of the Nilotics were found to be rh negative.