Aligned with previous RNA‐seq analyses (Tran et al, 2016; Lee et al, 2018; Bediako et al, 2019) and a well‐defined role for IFN‐γ in acute malaria (Pongponratn et al, 2003), transcriptional profiles of P. falciparum symptomatic malaria predicted this cytokine as an upstream regulator of the stress response induced during infection. This evidence concerns the gene IFNG and infection.