MSF raises concern over increase in measles cases in three provinces

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Afghanistan has expressed concern about the rising incidence of measles in the country, saying that the provinces of Herat, Kunduz and Helmand are the most affected.

MSF said Wednesday that in the past week alone, 90 children with measles had been admitted to a special ward in Herat province.

Last week, the agency announced the opening of a special ward for measles patients at the provincial hospital, saying that it has now increased the ward to 60 beds.

Médecins Sans Frontières said in just a few days, all the beds in this ward were full of measles patients and now there is no room for other sick children.

According to MSF, Helmand and Kunduz provinces have had the highest number of measles cases in the past week.

This comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday warned that measles is on the rise among children in Afghanistan and that so far this year, at least 43,000 children have contracted the disease.

Of this, 214 children have died in the past three months from measles, WHO reported.

According to WHO, five percent of these deaths are children under the age of five, which is higher than last year.

While the Ministry of Health has not confirmed these numbers, officials have confirmed an outbreak of the disease and reported cases in Kunduz, Kabul and Helmand provinces.