At least 500 people have contracted an “unknown” illness over the past four days, exhibiting symptoms including physical weakness, severe muscle pain, intense diarrhea and high fever, Hikmatullah Shamee, a spokesman for the Taliban governor, said on Wednesday.
Shamee described the illness as contagious, noting that most of the affected individuals are residents of a single area in the Kafshan Valley in the Shinwari district.
The number of cases continues to rise, according to Shamee, with local health officials monitoring the situation closely.
He said that so far, two people have died from the disease and at least 50 others are in critical condition.