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Doctor dies of Congo fever in northern Afghanistan Congo Fever
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Doctor dies of Congo fever in northern Afghanistan

Bangladesh Live News | @banglalivenews | 02 Jun 2023, 09:18 pm

Kabul, June 2: The head of the Taliban's public health department in the northern province of Jawzjan said a doctor has died and five other health workers have been infected with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF).

Provincial officials in northern Afghanistan said health workers contracted CCHF, also known as 'Congo fever', when they came into contact with infected patients.

Taliban officials told Bakhtar news agency that health officials did not know that some patients had contracted CCHF.

Taliban official Zabihullah Hussaini said that two locals died of Congo fever last week.

Taliban officials said some health care procedures had been put in place at the Jawzjan provincial hospital and patients with the disease were being quarantined.

Over the past two decades, outbreaks of Congo disease have been reported in northern Jawzjan and Faryab provinces.

Najibullah Tawana, head of the Taliban's public health department in Balkh province, said 10 people with Congo disease have been sent to Mazar-e-Sharif for treatment.

He also said that two people died due to this disease in Abu Ali Sina Balkhi Hospital.

The exact number of people infected with Congo fever is not yet known, and the Taliban have not provided details on whether the disease has spread to other provinces.

Poor health services and facilities, poor hygiene in remote areas of the country, and unsafe drinking water make the Afghan population very susceptible to infectious diseases, which kill countless people every year in different parts of Afghanistan.