Friday, October 15, 2010

WHO: Outbreak of disfiguring tropical disease surges in Afghanistan, with thousands infected

KABUL- An outbreak of a tropical disease caused by sand fly bites that leaves disfiguring skin sores has hit Afghanistan, with tens of thousands of people infected, health officials said Friday.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by the female phlebotomine sand fly — an insect only 2-3 millimetres long that requires the blood of humans or animals so its eggs can develop. Treatable with medication and not life-threatening, cutaneous leishmaniasis can leave severe scars on the bodies of victims.

The disease threatens 13 million people in Afghanistan...

In Kabul — described by the WHO as “the world capital of cutaneous leishmaniasis” — the number of cases jumped from an estimated 17,000 a year in the early 2000s to 65,000 in 2009, WHO said.

Most victims are women and children. ..“This number is likely to be the tip of the iceberg as cases are grossly under-reported,” said Graaff.

An outbreak has occurred in a small village in western Herat province’s Kohsan district with 63 people infected since August, Graaff said.

The cause of the outbreak was unknown and a WHO team has been dispatched to investigate, he said.

According to the WHO, as many as 12 million people are infected worldwide with the disease, with about 1 million to 2 million new cases annually.

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