Pretoria - The provincial Health Department in Gauteng has downplayed claims of a meningococcal meningitis outbreak in the province, saying there is no need for people to be alarmed.
"The department would like to state that these alarming reports are not accurate. The province does not have an outbreak of meningococcal meningitis," the department's Simon Zwane said on Monday.
Certain media have claimed poor infection control led to the death of a five-day-old baby at Mamelodi Hospital on Saturday, while other cases of meningitis where reported at
Far East Rand and Tambo Memorial hospitals
Zwane - who explained that a positive diagnosis can only be confirmed by a laboratory test done by National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) - said there are no records of persons diagnosed with meningitis in the past week.
"The NICD reports these cases to the department and necessary steps are taken if there is a sign of an outbreak. So far, NICD has not reported an outbreak of meningitis in the province."
Meningococcal meningitis is a communicable disease transmitted from person to person through droplets of respiratory or throat secretions as well as close or prolonged contact such as kissing, sneezing and coughing on someone.
