DEATHS AND INJURIES DUE TO UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE (UXO) IN NORTHERN LAO PDR (LAOS)

Xieng Khousang province in Lao PDR (Laos) is one of the most heavily b ombed areas on earth due to the secret bombing during the Vietnam war. This study presents the community-based cumulative incidence of injur ies related to unexploded ordnance (UXO) after the war. The data were collected by one of the IK based non-governmental organizations, Mines Advisory Group (MAG). Three districts in the province, reported to ha ve the largest UXO load, were studied. Nearly half of the injuries and deaths involved children below age 15. The case-fatality rate was not different among children and adults. Males were significantly more li kely to die of UXO injuries than females. We believe that UXO is an im portant public health problem in Laos for the following reasons: (1) 2 2 years after the end of the war, an average of one injury still occur s every other day. (2) there is a high incidence among children below age 15 (3) the case-fatality rate is high (4) most injuries involve mu ltiple fragments which usually require complex surgical and medical ma nagement skills. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.