Medical problems in refugee children evacuated from South Vietnam.

One hundred and fourteen refugee children from South Vietnam showed similar disease prevalences to refugee children from Bangladesh. Common diseases were malnutrition, gastroenteritis, pneumonia and bronchitis, scabies and furunculosis. Seven children died, five from pneumonia complicated by malnutrition. Increased awareness of the high incidence of Pneumocystis pneumonia and more careful assessment of nutritional status may reduce mortality in future groups of refugee children evacuated to Australia.