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Poor security prevents WHO treating influenza

Some 25 children have died from suspected influenza in a remote valley in northeastern Afghanistan, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official told IRIN after one of the organisation's teams was prevented from entering the area due to reports of factional fighting. "Our teams should have returned to the area to assess the situation, but we have had no radio contact with them yet," a WHO official in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, Lori Girardet, said on Tuesday. WHO was informed of the deaths by local residents, and immediately dispatched a mission to the Yamagan valley clinic in the province of Badakhshan late last week, she said. "We have sent the team to take samples from the area so we can determine whether or not it was influenza that they died from," she explained, saying that the journey, which she described as being "long and laborious", could only be made by donkey. Girardet added that due to the remoteness of the valley, there was no way of knowing how long it would take the teams to reach the area. "We also don't know how long it will take the teams to gather information once they reach their destination," Girardet stressed. There had been outbreaks of influenza in the area in the past, prompting fears that there could be more deaths, thereby enhancing the urgency of the need for the WHO team to reach the valley as soon as possible, she said. "Influenza can spread quickly and kill easily, especially among the vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly," Girardet warned. The world health body is also investigating reports that influenza had spread throughout Feyzabad, Baharak, Jurum and some other districts of Badakhshan. As an airborne disease that causes respiratory and high-fever symptoms, influenza is similar to common flu. But the impoverished Afghan health sector struggles to cope with such common ailments. The country's health services have been battered by two decades of war, and the Afghan health ministry is desperately trying to rebuild the health-care system. A nationwide workshop for reconstruction of the health sector is due to take place between 13 and 17 March. The conference will comprise hundreds of delegates from all regions of the country and representatives from national and international NGOs, as well as United Nations agencies. This will be the first major national event focusing on health in Afghanistan, and its outcome is expected to set the agenda for reconstruction in the years to come. Earlier this month, an initial planning workshop developed the new organisational structure for the health ministry, clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of each department.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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