Foetal haemoglobin and the dynamics of paediatric malaria.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although 80% of malaria occurs in children under five years of age, infants under six months of age are known to have low rates of infection and disease. It is not clear why this youngest age group is protected; possible factors include maternal antibodies, unique nutrition (breast milk), and the presence of foetal haemoglobin (HbF). This work aims to gain insight into possible mechanisms of protection, and suggest pathways for focused empirical work, by modelling a range of possible effects of foetal haemoglobin and other red blood cell (RBC) developmental changes on parasite dynamics in infants.

Methods

A set of ordinary differential equations was created to investigate the leading hypotheses about the possible protective mechanisms of HbF-containing red blood c

SUBMITTER: Billig EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3538578 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature