Among the common clinical manifestations of paediatric severe malaria, especially in holoendemic countries like Nigeria, are the varying levels of anaemia.8, 9 Anaemia from malaria is attributable to some pathogenetic mechanisms, which include rupture of parasitised red cells, immune-mediated breakdown of red cells, dyserythropoietic, splenic destruction of deformed and rigid parasitised red cells, and a depressed bone marrow response despite high-level hypoxia-induced erythropoietin levels.8 The gene discussed is EPO; the disease is anemia.