Manila  - A flood-borne disease has killed 89 people in typhoon-hit areas in the Philippine capital and outlying provinces in the past 15 days, a senior health official said Friday.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said close to 1,000 people were also being treated for leptospirosis in various hospitals.

Leptospirosis is a fatal bacterial infection acquired when water contaminated by animal urine comes into contact with unhealed breaks in the skin, eyes or mucous membranes.

Duque said the disease could trigger kidney failure and cause damage to the liver and the brain.

The Health Department said all the 89 fatalities were residents of areas that were still flooded more than three weeks after Tropical Storm Ketsana wreaked havoc on September 26.

The department estimated that 1.7 million people living in flooded areas were at risk of acquiring the disease.

"We expect a lot more cases from these communities," Duque said.

"In the face of the inability to evacuate people in the flood communities immediately, we are preparing for contingencies in the event of prolonged stay of these people in the absence of relocation areas," he added.

Duque said among the contingencies being prepared by his office was to provide prophylaxis for these people living in flooded communities to give partial protection from the disease. (dpa)