Self-medication with chloroquine in a rural district of Tanzania: a therapeutic challenge for any future malaria treatment policy change in the country.

BACKGROUND: Malaria continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children aged 5 years or younger in Tanzania. Children who develop mild disease can rapidly progress to severe malaria (cerebral malaria with convulsions) and even death, because of mismanagement, delays and inappropriate drug therapy in the remote areas where primary health care facilities are inaccessible or unavailable. The threat is particularly severe in those who are unable to take oral medications.

OBJECTIVE: To identify treatment strategies adopted by mothers or guardians of children under five for malaria.

METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive study using a questionnaire and blood sampling was carried in Kibaha district primary health care facilities. Over 500 mothers/guardians of sick children aged up to 5 years who visited the public facilities seeking care were interviewed in order to assess what management they offered to their sick children in their homes prior to coming to the public health facilities.

RESULTS: Seventy-four per cent of the mothers/guardians stated that they had given some medication to their children prior to visiting the public health facilities: mostly analgesics (asprin, paracetamol) and chloroquine. Eighty-five per cent of the sick children given chloroquine had whole blood chloroquine levels above 500 nmol/L and 33% of the sick children with whole blood chloroquine levels above 1,000 nmol/L had malaria parasites in their blood. Of the sick children given chloroquine at the health facilities, 63% had no malaria parasites in their blood.

CONCLUSION: There is a need to educate both rural communities, and health care providers about rational prescribing, dispensing and use of antimalarials.