8am: An estimated 200 people have been infected with an unknown, contagious disease in the Shahjoy district of Zabul province in southern Afghanistan. Abdul Hakim Hakimi, Taliban’s director of public health in Zabul province, told Hasht-e Subh today (Wednesday, May 18) that the virus had originated in the village of Shaikhal in the Shajoy district, where at least 200 people had been infected so far. Doctors say that the main cause of this disease is the lack of hygiene by the people. Click here to read more (external link).