More than
90 people in Afghanistan died last week in an outbreak of cholera
in Badghis Province, a drought-stricken area in the northwestern
part of the country.
A United Nations report stated on Monday that the total population
of the affected communities is 20,000. It reported that an emergency
program had been launched to bring in drugs and equipment in an
effort to keep the disease from spreading.
Some strains
of the illness can cause death from dehydration in frail or very
young victims within 24 hours.
The severe
drought is the worst to hit the country in 30 years, and has affected
more than half of the war-torn country's population. Tens of thousands
of Afghanis from various regions, including Badghis, have been
displaced.
Aid workers
in central Afghanistan reported last month that 16 people had
also been killed by an unidentified drought-related illness.
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