The World Health Organisation says a cholera epidemic in northern Afghanistan has killed 56 people since it began some three weeks ago.

A WHO spokeswoman, Laranona Graber, said a team had just returned from Balkh province and had confirmed nearly 1,000 cases of disease so far.

She told the BBC that the death rate had dropped once the WHO team was operational, adding that many of the victims were children and old people.

Another team has gone to the area.

The heart of the outbreak is in the Agkupruk district of Balkh - close to the frontline where Taleban and opposition forces are fighting for control of the province.

Dr Graber said some cholera cases had also been reported in the western province of Herat.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service