mRDTs based on histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2), which are the predominant mRDT type used in most African contexts including in the study areas analysed here, may detect residual antigenemia persisting after a cleared P. falciparum infection, but guidelines typically advise that providers only consider the possibility of a false-positive mRDT result on this basis for a short while after effective treatment of a confirmed infection [2], which presumably would have been a rare case presentation in the study populations. Here, HDGFL2 is linked to infection.