Scientists identify genes reducing risk of severe malaria by 40%

Genes have been identified in African children that reduce their risk of contracting severe malaria by up to 40%. The locus, or position of the resistant genes on the genome, was found near a cluster of genes called glycophorins, which are involved in the malaria parasite’s invasion of red blood cells. The findings could help to evaluate individual and population risk of the disease, which is estimated to have killed 584,000 people – 90% of them under five in Africa – in 2013.