FAIZ ABAD (SW) – At least 74 children have lost their lives to measles outbreak in Badakhshan province, confirmed officials.
Local officials in Badakhshan told Salam Watandar that at least 74 children have lost their lives due to the spread of measles in some districts of the province.
Badakhshan’s director of information and culture, Moizuddin Ahmadi, told Salam Watandar that measles outbreak was spreading in the province for the past two months and has spread to ten districts, including the capital Faiz Abad.
Ahmadi added that so far no organization or health institution has come to their aid and many children have died due to the disease in Kof Ab and Kohistan districts.
Symptoms include fever, malnutrition, red scars on the skin among children, as well as thinness and fainting.
Meanwhile, Badakhshan’s director of information and culture says he has not yet identified the cause of the outbreak and that international health organizations are asking him to help prevent the spread of the disease.
On the other hand, the residents of Badakhshan province consider the spread of measles among children as a threat and urge the officials of the Islamic Emirate to pay attention to this issue.
They added that in the remote districts of Badakhshan where the disease has spread, the health centers are facing shortage of medicines and doctors and hence the death toll could be even higher.
According to them, measles is a contagious disease and it has spread to others in every household where children are infected.
Residents of Badakhshan also called on the Islamic Emirate and aid agencies to take immediate steps to prevent the spread of the disease, which could lead to a catastrophe in the province.
Salam Watandar tried to get the opinion of the officials of the health department of Badakhshan province in this regard, but despite our repeated efforts, we did not succeed.
Officials run measles prevention campaign every year, but health experts say the distance from the center to the districts, the lack of timely vaccinations for children, the lack of food and medicine, and the lack of food and medicine in Badakhshan are the main causes of the spread of measles in the center and districts
ENDS
