Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infection in children is associated with increased auto-antibody production, high IL-10 plasma levels and antibodies to merozoite surface protein 3

Table 1 General characteristics of patients in the different clinical groups

Group	Patient no. (%)	Mean age (range)	Sex ratio (M/F)	Total IgG mean in mg/ml (SD)
EC	18 (18.56)	2.6 (0.5 – 5)	10/8	18.5 (13.0)
AM	22 (22.68)	2.8 (0.1 – 5)	12/10	23.8 (22.8)
MM	57 (58.76)	3 (0.5 – 6)	20/30*	13.5 (7.6)
Total	97 (100)	2.8 (0.1 – 6)	42/48	17.02 (14.3)

EC: uninfected controls, AM: asymptomatic P. falciparum-infected patients, MM: Mild Malaria, SD: standard deviation.
*Not determined for 7 patients.
Levels of total Immunoglobulin G were quantified in all groups on day of inclusion in the study and before treatment for MM patients (corresponding to day 0).

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