54,000 people contract skin diseases in Balkh last year

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): About 54,000 people have been infected with different skin diseases in northern Balkh province during the past one year, an official said on Tuesday.

Dr. Ali Asghar Malik, beauty and skin diseases department head in the zonal hospital, told Pajhwok Afghan News 54,000 people with various skin diseases approached the hospital last year.

According to him, only 16,000 of these people were infected with scabies and most of them recovered after treatment.

Dr. Ali Asghar said people would be infected with more such disease if they did not protect themselves from unclean water.

Dr. Ahmad Waleed, trainer of skin and toxic disease, told Pajhwok that people in remote areas did not visit specialist doctors for skin diseases and used medicines willfully.

He said the skin diseases were mostly treated with normal creams, Dettol soap and shampoo.

Also, Azizullah, a resident of Shulgar district, told Pajhwok that his son was suffering from skin disease.

He said: “My son is getting some kind of rash on his body, now I brought him to the hospital, after coming to the hospital, his condition has improved a little and I’m satisfied with the services of the hospital.”

sa/ma