Manila  - Foreign health experts on Tuesday began an assessment of a large-scale outbreak of a flood-borne disease that has killed 167 people in the Philippines.

The four-member team was dispatched to Manila by the World Health Organization (WHO) after the Philippines sought international assistance to deal with the increasing cases of leptospirosis.

The experts were expected to be in the Philippines for three weeks to study the strain of leptospirosis that has also infected more than 2,000 people.

"They will help identify why the current leptospirosis is fierce, resulting to a lot of deaths," said Eric Tayag, chief epidemiologist of the Philippine Department of Health.

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

The infection could trigger kidney, liver and brain damage that could be fatal.

The outbreak occurred after Tropical Storm Ketsana dumped one month's worth of rain on Manila and its outlying areas on September 26, causing the worst flooding in more than 40 years. The deluge killed 464 people.

One week later, Typhoon Parma battered the northern Philippines, causing landslides and more flooding, which killed 465 people. (dpa)