Cholera cases have increased once again in Zabul province in southern Afghanistan as at least 800 people have been infected with the disease in the last few weeks, doctors said.
At least 12,800 people have been infected with cholera in the province since March and 12 of them have lost their lives, according to health officials.
Abdul Hakim Hakimi, head of the public health directorate in Zabul, said the new cases were reported in Arghandab and Siyori districts in Zabul.
He added that they are prepared to prevent the spread of the disease in the province.
Residents of the province said that the disease is due to the lack of health services in remote areas in Zabul.
They asked relevant institutions to provide health services in remote areas of Zabul to prevent the disease.
“There is poverty. People are living in difficult situations. People have been heavily affected by the disease. We live in remote areas and have had our patients dead on the way to the city of Qalat,” said Abdul Hameed, a resident of Zabul.
“The disease should be prevented. Doctors should ask the people to consider health measures and I hope the disease vanishes soon,” said Jan Muhammad, a resident of Arghandab district in Zabul.
Cholera infected thousands of people in Kandahar and Helmand provinces in southern Afghanistan this year.
Besides Zabul, hundreds of cholera cases have been recorded in Kandahar, Helmand and Rozgan this year.
Health officials say that this disease is caused by contaminated water and a lack of hygiene.
