Maljo believers are particularly concerned with safeguarding babies and children, who are considered to be most vulnerable to its effects. It may be ‘caused by someone born with a "blight" in the eye, when such a person looks admiringly at a child. It can also occur with a pat on the head, or with just a glance. Whether it is intended or not, compliments (...) can cause maljo. It can be caused by a stranger, a member of the child's immediate family or by another relative.’ It may even be passed on by a parent who is obsessed with their own child. A baby with maljo ‘refuses to eat or drink, cries continually and "pines away.". It may have an "attack of fever".’