As noted by previous authors, the inactivated, transmission-reducing CHIT1 may not be required in Benin and Burkina Faso populations, which display high frequencies for genetic conditions conferring natural resistance against malarial pathogenicity, such as thalassemia and G6PDH deficiency (Malaguarnera et al., 2003), as well as Duffy factor negativity (Gething et al., 2012), that may encourage selection for ‘anti-parasitic’ (enzymatically active) CHIT1 rather than ‘anti-malarial’ (enzymatically inactive) CHIT1. This evidence concerns the gene CHIT1 and thalassemia.