Medical teams probe whooping cough reports

The United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) told IRIN on Wednesday that a public health team had been sent from the capital, Kabul and another from the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif to verify reports of a whooping cough outbreak in the remote Koofab district of Badakhshan province in the northeast. "The two teams will arrive in Faizabad today where they will receive help from a local commander to take them to the area concerned," said Loretta Heiber Girardet, a WHO spokesperson in Kabul. Unconfirmed reports suggest that a whooping cough outbreak in the region could have killed as many 140 people in the past 10 days. Whooping cough, or Pertussis, is caused by germs in the mouth, nose and throat. It is spread by coughing and sneezing and is often fatal in vulnerable populations if left untreated. The disease is most common in infants under 1 year old. "We have had various reports - all from non-medical sources - ranging from 70 to 200 cases. Because whooping cough is very contagious, we are taking these reports seriously," Heiber Girardet added. State radio in Kabul reported on Monday that 100 people, mainly children and old people, had died of whooping cough in the region. Badakhshan is on the border with China and Tajikistan and is one of the poorest and most isolated regions of Afghanistan. The mountainous area is prone to various diseases because of its remoteness, poverty and lack of medical infrastructure. "We could be talking about diphtheria or a number of other diseases in the region. Until we get a report back from the teams, whooping cough cannot be verified," she said. WHO confirmed that it was negotiating with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul to use their helicopters to transport medicine and personnel to the region if necessary. Afghanistan, a country ravaged by 23 years of war, has one of the highest disease-related mortality rates in the world. In a recent survey in parts of the north, the international NGO Save the Children put the under-five mortality rate at 5.9 per 10,000. Acute respiratory infections, measles and diarrhoea were the common causes of deaths, the report said.