The evidence for a beneficial effect of HbC is more recent, and is based on the observation that HbC heterozygotes were protected against severe malaria in the Dogon ethnic group of Mali [3], and in the Mossi ethnic group of Burkina Faso, where HbC was associated with a 29% reduction in risk of clinical malaria in the heterozygote and 93% in the homozygous states [4]. Here, KRT88P is linked to malaria.