A Follow-up Study of a Large Group of Children Struck by Lightning

Abstract— On 11 November 1994, 26 preadolescent girls, 2 adult supervisors and seven dogs were sleeping in a tent in rural South Africa when it was hit by lightning. Four of the girls and four of the dogs were killed. What follows is a nineteen year follow-up study of the survivors. Of the 22 surviving young women, 11 responded. Clinical and psychological symptoms are reported in this paper which adds to the body of literature on the long-term after effects of lightning strike on survivors. A brief discussion on posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology is provided.

Keywords- lightning injury, burns, lightning burns, cataract, macula, eye injury, psychological injury, chronic pain, follow-up study, clinical symptom, posttraumatic stress disorder.