text_1: Patients with microcytosis and higher erythrocyte count are more vulnerable to severe malarial anaemia when infected with Plasmodium falciparum.
text_2: METHODS AND FINDINGS Data from children living on the north coast of Papua New Guinea who had participated in a case-control study of the protection afforded by alpha(+)-thalassaemia against severe malaria were reanalysed to assess the genotype-specific reduction in erythrocyte count and Hb levels associated with acute malarial disease.