Bloodstream bacterial infections remain a global public health concern due to their high mortality and life changing sequelae. There are almost 2 million cases of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) bacteraemia (causing approx. 380,000 deaths) each year in sub-Saharan Africa. The incidence of NTS bacteraemia is approx. 5-fold higher in sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere and there is convincing epidemiological evidence of a direct association between Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection and increased risk of NTS bacteraemia. I will review the evidence for this association and present data from studies in humans and an animal model of malaria NTS co-infection which begin to explain the molecular and cellular basis of this association. Finally, I will present data from ongoing, unpublished studies designed to test the hypothesis that persistent, subclinical malaria infections represent a risk factor for invasive bacterial disease.