We also found elevated osteopontin among this study population during the wet season, a time when infections are more common and food is less available (J Jorgensen, R Young, P Ashorn, U Ashorn, D Chaima, J Davis, E Goonatilleke, C Kumwenda, C Lebrilla, K Maleta, J Sadalaki, S Totten, L Wu, A Zivkovic, K Dewey, unpublished results, 2020). This evidence concerns the gene SPP1 and infection.