KALAT, Afghanistan - (Xinhua) - A total of 300 people, mostly children, have been infected with whooping cough or pertussis in southern Afghanistan's Zabul province, and two children have died of the disease, Provincial Public Health Director Abdul Hakim Hakimi said on Tuesday.

In his statements to Xinhua, Hakimi said, "The disease, which is spreading in the Souri district of the state, has infected no less than 300 people, most of them children, while two children lost their lives during the past week."

He also confirmed that an emergency team of health officials has been sent to the region to treat those infected with the disease.
Meanwhile, the state's public health office has asked citizens not to leave their homes for several days to avoid the spread of the highly contagious disease.

It is noteworthy that whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that affects the respiratory system, and it is known as a violent, uncontrollable cough, and it usually makes breathing difficult.