anaemia

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Condition caused by a shortage of haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying component of red blood cells. The main symptoms are fatigue, pallor, breathlessness, palpitations, and poor resistance to infection. Treatment depends on the cause.

Anaemia arises either from abnormal loss or defective production of haemoglobin. Excessive loss occurs, for instance, with chronic slow bleeding or with accelerated destruction (haemolysis) of red blood cells. Defective production may be due to iron deficiency, vitamin B₁₂ deficiency (pernicious anaemia), certain blood diseases (sickle-cell anaemia and thalassaemia), chronic infection, kidney disease, or certain kinds of poisoning. Untreated anaemia taxes the heart and may prove fatal.

Red and white are traditional colours, dating back to the flag of 19th-century Samoan king, Malietoa Laupepa. The Southern Cross constellation links Samoa to other countries in the southern hemisphere. Effective date: 4 July 1997. >>