Description of the situation
8 January 2003
Disease Outbreak Reported
WHO has reported 115 cases and 17 deaths from pertussis in Khwahan district, the provincial capital of Badakhshan, north-eastern Afghanistan. A team consisting of health workers from the Afghan Ministry of Health, WHO and the Aga Khan Development Network have been flown to the field on an Afghan Ministry of Defence helicopter. A United Nations helicopter will follow later with extra supplies of erythromycin, vaccines, and vaccination equipment provided by UNICEF.
For more information, see the press release from the WHO Afghanistan Office.