12 died and 6,000 infected with cholera in Jowzjan: health officials

Twelve people have died and more than 6,000 people have been infected with cholera outbreak in Jowzjan province, health officials said Friday.

It is said that cholera has transmitted from the southern provinces to the northern provinces of the country.

At the same time, the number of people infected with cholera has increased in Balkh and Zabul provinces, and the number of infected people has reached 4,000 in Zabul province.

“The disease is spreading in north of the country, including Balkh, Samangan, Faryab and in Jowzjan provinces and specially in Sheberghan city, the center of Jowzjan, more than 1,000 patients are hospitalized, said Ghousuddin Anwari, head of the Abu Ali Sina-e-Balkhi District Hospital.

This outbreak mostly affects those who live in remote areas and have less access to health services.

In the north of the country, lack of access to safe drinking water is said to be one of the other factors of contracting this disease.

“We don’t have clean water; our area is a mountainous place which we keep water from snow in the winter season,” said Mohammad Ishaq, a resident of Samangan.

This disease was registered for the first time in Shahjoy district of Zabul province two months ago, now the number of infected people has reached 4,000 people.

After the COVID-19 virus, cholera disease is the second epidemic disease that has faced the people of Afghanistan with serious problems.