Suspected whooping cough outbreak in Afghanistan: UN

At least 61 children have died from a suspected whooping cough outbreak in Afghanistan's north-eastern province of Badakhshan, the World Health Organisation said.

All the victims were under the age of 12 and died over a four-week period, the United Nations agency said in a statement.

Another 68 children were suffering from similar symptoms - shortness of breath, coughing, fever and bleeding from the nose - and are being treated with antibiotics.

"These symptoms comply with the presumptive diagnosis of whooping cough, but other diagnoses including diphtheria and measles cannot yet be excluded," WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a news briefing.

A WHO investigating team with medical supplies is already in the stricken Darwaz district of Badakhshan and a six-person backup team will arrive on Friday or Saturday to assist in the investigation and treat the affected population, WHO said.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that can lead to a 15 per cent mortality rate during an epidemic, which can occur when a population is not vaccinated.

"Vaccination coverage in Afghanistan is less than 40 per cent, making children in remote areas such as Darwaz, particularly vulnerable," Ms Chaib said.

Thousands of Afghan children die every year from vaccine preventable diseases including whooping cough and measles.

The last whopping cough outbreak in the country was in August 2001 when 300 cases were reported.

Vaccination News Home Page

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.