Hot weather, drinking polluted water and failure of families to observe healthcare tips were the reasons behind the spread of the disease in the province, according to sources.

Kabul: As many as 1,500 Afghan children have been infected with diarrhoea over the past week in the northern Takhar province, a local health official said on Wednesday. "The infected children have been taken to the provincial hospital, where most of them, under eight years old, have been treated," the official told the news agency. He said the disease was under control.