THERE was no cause for alarm at present but people including doctors, parents and teaching should be on the lookout for symptoms which could signal an outbreak of meningitis, the Western Cape health department said on Thursday. In the past week three people in the province have died of meningococcal meningitis. ”The department is issuing circulars to every school and doctor in the province,” said spokesman Ossie Gibson. ”They should be on a heightened level of awareness.” The symptoms to be on the alert for include sudden onslaught of fever, intense headache, nausea and vomiting, and a stiff neck. Gibson said there had been 212 cases of and 32 deaths from the disease last year and 188 cases and 22 deaths the previous year. If the disease was diagnosed and treated early enough the chances of a full recovery were very good, Gibson said. – Sapa