BAGUIO, Philippines, Jan 7 (AFP) - Health experts Friday set up a taskforce in this northern Philippines resort city to stop the spread of a bacterial infection that has reportedly killed as many as 28 people in recent months.
The special laboratory, established by the government and World Health Organization, will speed up detection and analysis of victims and track the spread of meningococcemia, a disease that targets the central nervous system, health officials said.
The laboratory would allow authorities to test for actual cases within the city, instead of sending the specimens to Manila, said Luningning Villa, head of a special unit on infectious diseases at the health department.
Health workers will also trace the sources of infection so that it can be isolated, officials said.
Health Department records showed that almost 60 suspected cases of meningococcemia had been detected in the Philippines since last year with about 90 percent of the cases in Baguio, an upland resort of about 300,000 people which lied 175 kilometers (108 miles) north of Manila.
Twenty-eight deaths are believed to have been due to the disease since March last year.
However, due to the difficulty of testing for the disease, "only five actual cases have been confirmed with only three deaths," Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said.
Baguio Mayor Braulio Yaranon this week tapped a special fund, normally reserved for disaster relief, to buy medicines, laboratory equipment and other supplies to help the task force fight the disease.
01/07/2005 08:55 GMT - AFP