1. A small number of isolated reports of learners with menigitis at school have been forwarded to the Western Cape Education Department.
2. Only one case of meningitis has been confirmed across the province and schools are advised not to regard this as an "outbreak" as has been reported. However, in order to educate and prepare schools adequately, a pamphlet from the Department of Health is attached for your interest and noting.
3. Should a medical practitioner contact the school with a confirmed diagnosis of meningitis for one of the learners/educators at the school, the following are the recommended steps that must be taken immediately by the school principal and school governing body:

  1. Contact must be made with the Education Management Development Centre (EMDC) to report the confirmed diagnosis at the school.

  2. The EMDC must contact the Regional Health Services, Communicable Disease Unit. The Regional Health Services will intervene at the school level with a monitoring and evaluation of the level of risk at the school. Risk of infection is rated as low, medium and high dependent on a variety of factors, and these will be evaluated by the Health team.

  3. Recommendations for further steps will be made by the health team and the EMDC management, with follow-up monitoring necessary.
4. Heads of educational institutions are earnestly requested to regard the issue seriously, and follow these steps in the unlikely event that a case of meningitis is reported at school.


SIGNED: R.B. SWARTZ
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2003:08:28

Meningitis Pamphlet  (size: 15 KB)