Description of the situation
16 January 2002
Disease Outbreak Reported
The provincial health department of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan has reported 738 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Kurram Agency. The majority of these cases are in children among the local population under the age of 15 and are in addition to 1500 cases in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan.
WHO recently sponsored a rapid survey in Kurram Agency and found 289 cured cases, as well as the 738 new cases; on average each case contracted the disease within the last 6 months. WHO is working with the local authorities to provide treatment for the cases and prevent further spread of the disease.