KABUL Afghanistan's ruling Taleban Sunday sent an urgent plea to the international community seeking medical supplies to help fight a large-scale outbreak of cholera. Minister of Public Health Mulla Mohammad Abbas said the deadly disease had already reached epidemic proportions and he was anticipating 48,000 cases of suspected cholera within the next four months. The spread of the disease was expected to peak within a month.

He said 6,359 cases of acute diarrheal disease had been reported in recent weeks resulting in 55 deaths, and all were being treated as suspected cholera. "An epidemic of cholera has occurred across Afghanistan in populated areas." "We request from ... the world for people to send supplies to us to help in the struggle and the control of this epidemic," Abbas told journalists.

He said two caches, each containing four suspected cholera samples had been sent to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Islamabad, in neighboring Pakistan, for testing. Of the total eight test samples, all from Kabul, five were confirmed as cholera. According to the health ministry the first suspected cholera case appeared about two weeks ago. Previously local authorities working with the United Nations and non-government organizations (NGOs) managed to control outbreaks of the disease which is not unusual during Afghanistan's summer months.

However, Abbas said an unusually hot spring and a further deterioration of the country's water and sewage network due to the civil war had resulted in an early outbreak, unprecedented by comparison with recent years. Medical NGOs Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and Save the Children have worked closely with the health ministry and MSF is coordinating management of the outbreak at five referral centers in Kabul. MSF medical coordinator Dr. Carolina Echeverri said about 80 suspected cholera cases were reported last week.

First reports emerged in mid June. (AFP)