Afghanistan hit by disfiguring tropical disease

Summary

Kabul the Capital of Afghanistan has been hit by a tropical disease. According to reports by the World Health Organization, the disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis threatens the health of 13 million Afghans, especially women and girls. The disease is transmitted when victims are bitten by a specific species of sand fly. ''The number of new reported cases in Kabul dramatically rose from the estimated yearly figure of 17,000 to 65,000 in 2009, mainly among women and children,'' said WHO representative to Afghanistan Peter Graaff. Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-e Sharif are other major Afghan cities affected by Leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis goes undiagnosed and untreated in many cases because the health infrastructure is very weak. They can only treat 40% of cases; it leads to severe scarring mostly on the face and hands. It also reported that foreign soldiers are getting the disease; so are people moving back to Afghanistan because they have not developed any resistance. “Nato camps have been fortified to try to stop the sand-flies and soldiers have been instructed to keep sleeves rolled down and to use mosquito nets and insect repellents.”There are negative social stigmas associated with the disease. Children are teased and bullied and women have a hard find husbands.

By Dawood Azami

BBC World Service editor, Kabul

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11545133

Analysis

This is an important story to follow and learn about not only because millions of Afghans are dying, but also because foreign soldiers are been affected. Communicable diseases are high risk because they do not have national boundaries, for example a US soldier can bring this back to the states with him without knowledge of it and the fly could adapt and populate and spread the disease. I think the public health minister of Afghanistan has a serious dilemma on his hands, because although the public knows about the disease they do not access to proper care. I am sure the government is spending money on the war rather than building and making their health infrastructure stronger. The flies thrive on wasteland and garbage, so I think one of the first problems to deal with is increasing hygiene and sanitation in those areas.