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| Afghanistan |
| Cholera outbreak in Kabul |
| 2002-07-17 |
| The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Afghan Ministry of Public Health have downplayed reports of a possible cholera outbreak - a waterborne infectious disease - in Kabul.âWe donât have a cholera outbreak, but we have an outbreak of diarrhoeal diseases,â spokeswoman for WHO, Loretta Hieber Girardet, told IRIN from Kabul. Oh, well that's different... WHO reported on Sunday that up to 6,000 people suffering from dehydration had been admitted to hospitals in the city, while three people had died from a severe lack of fluids. Cholera, which causes severe dehydration, spreads extremely rapidly among large populations, if preventive measures are not implemented quickly. Her comments follow media reports saying authorities and aid agencies were taking urgent measures to prevent a cholera epidemic in the capital after three people were diagnosed. âOnly three cases of cholera does not indicate that there is an outbreak,â Khwaja Mir Azam Mehraban, Afghanistanâs Deputy Minister for Public Health said. Another triumph for Islamic disease control... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |