[Resistance to P. falciparum malaria in tropical Africa: congenital and genetic factors. General review (author's transl)]. / Facteurs congénitaux et facteurs génétiques dans la résistance au paludisme. A P. falciparum en Afrique tropiciale. Revue générale.

During the first months of life, maternal antibodies and foetal haemoglobine reduce the parasitical multiplication and allow the development of an effective immunological defense. In addition, the foetal defense structures receive a useful information from the malarial antigens passing in through the placenta. Genetic erythrocytic factors also, operate in some individuals, who, as a rule, are homozygotic. Various genes control the development of a premunition-type immunization giving an almost perfect balance between host and parasite, in individuals as well as for populations as a whole. It is likely that selective mutation has increased the frequency of favourable genes.