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October 25, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"WHO Teams Investigate Mystery Afghan 'Epidemic'"

Agence France Presse (www.afp.com/english/home) (10/24/02)

A mysterious illness reportedly has taken the lives of 140 Afghani children--70 within a week--in the northeastern province of Badakhashan, sparking an investigation by the World Health Organization (WHO).  A WHO spokeswoman noted that the reported symptoms appear to be similar to whooping cough, diphtheria, or possibly even measles, although she said that is not as likely because the vaccination rate in that part of the country is high. Last year, 300 cases of whooping cough were discovered in the central province of Ghazni, and a diphtheria outbreak in the western province of Herat earlier this year was confined to just a few cases.  WHO spokeswoman Loretta Hieber Giradet noted that the suspected outbreak was being taken seriously, as whooping cough and diphtheria are very contagious; however, she also noted that on some occasions in the past, investigations following reports of epidemics turned up nothing.

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