A senior epidemiologist has warned that an outbreak of cholera in the Afghan capital Kabul is on the verge of turning into an epidemic with at least eight people killed and more than 2,000 others feared infected.

Despite the threat, the expert said the Afghan government was well equipped to deal with the crisis and had set up an emergency task force.

Health officials in the war-shattered city of 4 million, where rubbish and sewage fill roadside ditches and water wells are polluted, claimed the threat had been contained.

Nevertheless, dozens of tents were being pitched in hospital gardens to isolate patients should the number of cases spike.

The disease has been detected in wells, the source of drinking water for most Kabul residents, and irrigation ditches. Cholera is an explosive disease. As soon as water sources are contaminated, it spreads.

Cholera is a major killer in developing countries, where it is spread mainly through contaminated food or water. The bacterium attacks the intestine and causes severe diarrhea and dehydration.

The last cholera outbreak in Kabul was in 2003, but it was minor and quickly addressed. In 2001, 114 people died from an outbreak in the country's north.

(Photo Source: Reuters)