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Correspondence
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Volume 328:1127-1128 April 15, 1993 Number 15
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Folate Deficiency to Protect against Malaria

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To the Editor: Gordeuk et al. (Nov. 19 issue)1 suggest that iron deficiency may protect against malaria. It does not. Of 101 children with malaria and anemia studied in Kenya, 15 had iron deficiency2. The development of malaria was not impaired because plasmodia obtain their iron from hemoglobin in iron-deficient red cells3.

Ten of the children in Kenya had sickle cell disease,2 which, like thalassemia, is usually protective against malaria3. They had been taking folate supplements because of the increased need for folate in chronic hemolytic anemias and thus did not have the folate deficiency otherwise common . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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