Due to reported cholera cases in Afghanistan, Tajikistan’s health ministry has taken strict control of water quality in the border areas of the Panj River and some districts of the Khatlon region.
The deputy head of Tajikistan’s sanitary surveillance service, Navruz Jafarov, said that a large-scale inspection of open water sources in the border areas of Khatlon region has been underway since June 3rd. Specialists are taking water samples and conducting tests to prevent the possible spread of infection.
The main reason for the inspections is the cholera outbreak in Afghanistan, which reached dangerous levels last year.
“The disease has spread to the districts of Balkh, Kunduz, Tahor, and Badakhshon, as well as areas bordering Tajikistan. In this regard, the water in the Panj River in the border areas is under strict control of specialists of the Republican Center for Quarantine Disease Control of the Ministry of Health,” Jafarov said.
He said five rivers in Tajikistan cross the border with Afghanistan. The disease may come to Tajikistan if floods or sewage from Afghan villages enter the rivers.
