Parasite density of K1 samples was compared to 10,993 trophozoites/μL (corresponding to severe malaria in Semi‐Bantu children as determined by [22]) using one sample upper‐tailed Z‐test with p ≤ 0.001, indicating that K1 allele might be responsible for malaria disease severity in Bamenda. Here, KRT1 is linked to malaria.