MANILA, Philippines -- Although it was not a case of swine flu, officials of the Ospital ng Makati were alarmed when a 51-year-old woman suspected of having contracted meningococcemia died a few days ago.

The death of Elsa Lopez on Monday afternoon prompted hospital officials to order the closure of the emergency room until May 1 to pave the way for a thorough cleanup of the facilities.

Lopez, a resident of Barangay Rizal, Palawan, died two hours after she was admitted to the OsMak emergency room at around 2:30 PM Monday.

At the time of her admission, she had been running a temperature for over 24 hours and had come down with rashes, Dr. Doyeth delos Reyes said.

OsMak head Perry Peralta said they believed Lopez had contracted meningococcemia although they were still trying to confirm this through the results of laboratory tests.

Meningococcemia or cerebrospinal fever is an acute bacterial disease transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets from the nose and throat of infected persons. The mode of transmission is similar to that of swine flu.

The symptoms of meningococcemia are high grade fever, rashes, weakness, seizures and internal bleeding. Death usually occurs within 24 hours after onset.

Peralta stressed that there was no cause for panic as Lopez?s death was believed to be due to meningococcemia and not swine flu.