FAIZABAD, Oct 3: A whooping cough outbreak has claimed the lives of at least 16 children in the north eastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, local officials said on Sunday.

Sayed Agha, district chief of Yamgan district where the outbreak occurred, said 30 children had died, although regional officials said the confirmed total was lower.

The children died during the past three days in Yamgan, to the northwest of Faizabad, the provincial capital of Badakhshan. Health officials in Faizabad confirmed the outbreak of whooping cough, saying 16 children died.

"The report we have for sure says that 16 children have died in the past four days and that 126 people have been affected," said Abdul Ghafoor Dawar, head of the province's health department. He said a joint WHO and UNICEF team had gone to the district to assess the seriousness of the outbreak of whooping cough. -Reuters