CARETAKERS PERCEPTIONS OF CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF CHILDHOOD MALARIA IN HOLO-ENDEMIC RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TANZANIA

A cross-sectional household survey was carried out in Kibaha district, Tanzania to obtain caretakers' knowledge on symptoms of childhood mal aria in children under five years of age in relation to its management . A total of 1530 caretakers were interviewed, 620 (40.5%) reporting m alaria attacks among their children in the last three months of which, 432 (70%) reported that the attacks were severe. Only 15.7% (68/432) of those reporting severe attacks could mention convulsions as symptom s of severe malaria, while fever and vomiting were mentioned as sympto ms of severe malaria by 93.3% (403/432) and 52.3% (226/432) of the car e-takers respectively. Higher level of education was significantly ass ociated with knowledge of symptoms of severe malaria, also with prompt ness in taking management action. The fact that most of the caretakers reported fever and vomiting as symptoms of severe malaria, and hence the observed high proportion of reported severe malaria, implies that the communities under study do not perceive febrile convulsion as bein g a symptom of severe malaria. The implication of these findings on th e control of malaria through treatment on demand are discussed.