Measles cases, deaths surging in Afghanistan, tens of thousands infected: WHO

A ragingmeaslesoutbreak inAfghanistaninfected tens of thousands and killed more than 150 people last month alone, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday, warning of moredeaths.

The UN health agency said the outbreak was particularly concerning sinceAfghanistanis facing massive food insecurity and malnutrition, leaving children far more vulnerable to the highly contagious disease.

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"Measlescaseshave been increasing in all provinces since the end of July 2021,"WHOspokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.

He saidcaseshad surged recently, ballooning by 18 per cent in the week of January 24 and by 40 per cent in the last week of the month.

In all, 35,319 suspectedmeaslescaseswere reported in January, including 3,000 that were laboratory confirmed, and 156deaths.Ninety-one per cent of thecasesand 97 per cent of thedeathswere children under the age of five.

Lindmeier stressed that themeasles-relateddeathswere likely underreported and the numbers were expected to swell.

"The rapid rise incasesin January suggests that the number ofdeathsdue tomeaslesis likely to increase sharply in the coming weeks," Lindmeier said.

Measlesis a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that attacks mainly children. The most serious complications include blindness, brain swelling, diarrhoea, and severe respiratory infections.

The latest surge incasescomes asAfghanistanis in the grip of a humanitarian disaster, worsened by the Taliban takeover in August -- when Western countries froze international aid and access to assets held abroad.

The United Nations has warned that half the country is threatened with food shortages.

"Malnutrition weakens immunity, making people more vulnerable to illness anddeathsdiseases likemeasles, especially children," Lindmeier said.

The best protection againstmeaslesis broad vaccination, with theWHOrecommending that countries ensure at least 95-per cent vaccination coverage -- a difficult goal in the Afghan context.

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Lindmeier said theWHOand its partners had been working to scale up theirmeaslessurveillance capacities and provide support for things like lab testing and immunisation campaigns.

Last December, a vaccination campaign in the hardest-hit areas reached 1.5 million children, he said.

They have also been providing Vitamin A supplements, which are important to help reduce sickness and death frommeasles, reaching 8.5 million children in a nationwide campaign last November.

TheWHO, Lindmeier said, was now working towards a largermeaslesvaccination drive starting in May, aimed at reaching more than three million children.