MANILA -- The Philippines' health chief on Saturday expressed concern over an increasing number of overseas Filipino workers infected with HIV, the virus that causes the incurable AIDS disease, AFP reported.

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said that since 1997, about 50 to 60 cases of HIV infection have been reported among overseas Filipino workers annually.

"Before that, the average was in the area of 20 to 30 cases a year," he said.

While HIV infection among Filipinos still remains low compared to other countries, Dayrit said the Department of Health was making the increase of cases among overseas workers "a cause of concern".

"We are now concentrating on the overseas workers and encouraging them to go for tests so that they don't spread the disease inadvertently to their loved ones," he said.

"The secret really is to convince them that it is in their interest to go for testing, and when they do go for testing, it is done under confidential conditions," he added.

Dayrit said the increase in HIV infection among overseas Filipino workers has caused an overall rise in the number of HIV cases in the country.

According to data from the Health Department, an average of 12 to 15 HIV cases were reported every month this year, compared to 10 a month in 2000.

A total of 1,733 HIV cases have been recorded in the country since January 1984. There are 572 people with full-blown AIDS while 246 have died from the disease.