At least 180 cholera patients have been admitted to Mir Wais Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan’s southernmost city.
According to Soorgul Nawzadi, a physician at the hospital, up to “74 patients affected with the disease are from Shah Walikot district.”
According to Nawzadi, the disease previously killed 20 children in the neighbouring Helmand province.
According to locals, approximately 150 people have been infected with the disease in the Baghran district of Helmand province.
“The weather is too hot … we don’t have clean drinking water and I think the lack of clean water could be a reason for the outbreak of the disease in our area,” said Dost Mohammad, a resident of Shah Walikot district.
Qari Abdullah, a resident of the Shah Walikot district, has asked the local administration and aid organisations to assist in providing drinking water to the people of the area.
In Afghanistan’s far-flung areas, villagers are vulnerable to diseases due to a lack of health infrastructure, poor or non-existent health centres, and limited access to potable water.
