Malaria did not increase the concentrations of plasma cytokines such as TNF-α, interleukin-7 (IL-7), interleukin-2 (IL-2, represented by its activity marker, the IL-2 receptor, or IL-2R) and IL-6, which have been shown to promote provirus reactivation [18-21] and to represent activation of the immune system (Additional file 2: Figure S2A). This evidence concerns the gene IL2 and malaria.