Fig. 2

Pattern of anti-inflammatory responses to malaria infection across the different transmission areas. Plasma levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines a interleukin (IL)-10, b IL-4, c IL-13, and d IL-7, were quantified in children with malaria in three areas of Ghana with varying malaria transmission intensities (Accra < Navrongo < Kintampo). Comparisons across sites were performed using Kruskal-Wallis H test with Dunn’s posthoc test (Accra N = 71; Navrongo N = 44; Kintampo N = 58). Samples below the detection limits were assigned a concentration of zero, including 12 samples for IL4 (Accra = 3, Navrongo = 1, Kintampo = 8), and 33 samples for IL7 (Accra = 6, Navrongo = 7, Kintampo = 20). Data are presented as box plots where boxes represent the inter-quartile ranges, while the whiskers represent the 10th and 90th percentiles. The lines across the boxes indicate the median values, while closed circles represent outliers