It is a great privilege to contribute to the Festschrift in honour of Professor Hendrik Koornhof. Internationally acclaimed researcher, academic and teacher, he has been the mentor of a whole generation of medical microbiologists. But above all, he has set an example as a humanitarian, rarely equalled by his peers. His numerous acts of kindness and concern for others, especially the underprivileged, are legendary. A man of the highest ethical and moral principles, he has always been intolerant of injustice, and has never hesitated to speak out against it, irrespective of the personal cost. He has enriched the lives of all of us who have been fortunate to know him. Professor Koornhof's major research contributions are in the field of bacterial infectious disease, to which he has made numerous seminal contributions. It seemed fitting then to devote this paper to the anaemia of bacterial infection.