Malaria is still a major cause of death and severe illness among children in many parts of
tropical Africa, but only a small proportion of children, perhaps 1–2%, who become ill with
malaria develop severe disease. Why only, some children experience a severe or fatal
attack is not understood clearly. In this article, Brian Greenwood, Kevin Marsh and Robert
Snow review some of those characteristics of the parasite and the host that may influence
the outcome of a malaria infection. Identification of the relative importance of the many …