SMA is an acute clinical manifestation of severe malaria, defined in children as haemoglobin (Hb) concentration <5 g/dl (or haematocrit <15%) combined with the presence of malaria parasites (with the additional criterion of parasite density threshold of >10,000/μl in the WHO definition although this is not always used in clinical settings)4. Here, GSTM1 is linked to malaria.