Both authors examined the manuscripts and excluded studies during abstract review if they did not include a cohort of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of malaria, case reports, review articles or behavioral studies. During full text review, we excluded studies if they were conducted outside of sSA, did not report any microbiological data or featured predominantly adults. Studies reporting a mixed adult child population were only included if the data for children could be readily separated. Studies in which relevant data could not be extracted or where inclusion criteria failed to represent a population of children with malaria, were also excluded. For study sites generating several papers from the same study cohort, we included only the most appropriate study unless time periods varied. Data on neonates were excluded since neonates represent a group largely unaffected by malaria but with an unrelated, distinct vulnerability for IBI. We did not actively consult with specialists in the field to discuss or review.