Three hundred people have reportedly been hospitalized and are being treated for cholera in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, officials said Tuesday.

The death toll has not yet been confirmed but on Sunday reports indicated at least 20 people had died in Helmand.

Residents of Baghran district in Helmand meanwhile said in a telephone conversation on Tuesday that more than 20 people had died from the bacterial disease in their district alone.

According to doctors at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar province, 180 patients are currently being treated for the disease.

“Almost 180 cholera patients, including children are hospitalized in this hospital,” said Sawgul Nawzadi, head of the academic council at Mirwais Hospital.

In the meantime, Kandahar Public Health Department officials said that the exact number of deaths caused by the cholera outbreak is not yet known, but that almost 120 patients have been taken to hospital from the remote areas of Baghran district.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Public Health officials said that the cholera outbreak has been reported in Baghran and Shah Wali Kot districts and has been attributed to the lack of clean water and eating contaminated food.

“The main cause is that residents do not have access to clean water; another reason could be unhealthy foods; fortunately, the hospitalized patients are getting treatment,” said Sharafat Zamani, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

Residents of Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar, who brought infected family members to Mirwais Hospital, also said that the main reason for the spread of cholera in their area is the lack of clean water.

“We don’t have access to clean water, also the weather is too hot, the cause is due to lack of clean water,” said Dost Mohammad, a resident of Shah Wali Kot.

Two months ago, a number of residents of Zabul province also died in a cholera outbreak.