Early home-based recognition of anaemia via general danger signs, in young children, in a malaria endemic community in north-east Tanzania

Table 2 Mothers'health seeking behaviour during presentation of danger signs in infants.

Mothers' report in Kiswahili on danger signs	English translation and details on signs, in no. of infants	No. of infants admitted to hospital exclusively	Infants exclusively*** treated traditionally	Infants both admitted and treated traditionally	Other****
Kulegea only	Weak body, 29*	2	10	6	11
Manifestations of kulegea, called zongo when severe and treated traditionally	Breastfeeding failure, too weak to sit/be carried, sleep all time, prostration/lethargy, 25*	5	14	4	2
Mchango	Convulsions,19 *	1	12	2	4
Kupauka	Paleness*, 21	5	7	5	6
N.a.	None of above signs, 21	3	3	0	15
Total	63	11	24	9	19

*In most instances, more than one symptom or sign occurred simultaneously
**Paleness is counted as a danger sign, but was in fact only responded to in action by mothers, when other signs were also occurring
*** Exclusively does not exclude simultaneous or sequential combination of traditional treatment with out-patient treatment or allopathic home treatment as a past or second choice. However, these were at stages during the illness progression when mothers saw this as homa or uncomplicated malaria, and not during danger signs.
**** Other includes out-patient treatment, home-treatment with allopathic medicine, failure to get treatment, or illness regarded as self-limiting.

ISSN: 1475-2875