Description:
The recent statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics that, "Vietnamese orphans are no threat to U. S. health," is disturbing. The report focuses on the fact that orphans represent little risk of unusual communicable diseases requiring quarantine. It concerns itself with the physical health of these infants and provides a comprehensive list of infectious diseases that may affect them. However, there is little concern expressed for the children except as victims of a number of infectious diseases, poor immunizations, and nutritional deficiencies with the conclusion that the only problems they will face are "manageable or self-limiting."