Anti-Malaria Traits “Cancel Out”

Two genetic traits that give Africans natural protection against malaria appear to cancel each other out when they occur together. Sickle cell trait and thalassaemia, both mutations in red blood cells, appear to hinder the malaria parasite. But a Kenya Medical Research Institute team found children with both mutations were at no lesser risk of malaria. The Nature Genetics study was presented at the pan-African Malaria Conference in Yaounde, Cameroon. The researchers, who examined the genetic and malarial status of more than 2,000 Kenyan children, said their finding showed that natural immunity was underpinned by complex biological mechanisms.

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