Lectures at Potchefstroom University were suspended on Monday afternoon until Wednesday after meningococcal meningitis claimed the lives of two students in five days.
Another six people in the town were infected, one of whom died as well.
The purpose of the suspension was to allow for students to be given preventative medication and for the drugs to take effect, said North West health department spokesperson Barba Gaoganebiwe.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and provincial health MEC Molefi Sefularo met university management on Monday to devise a response plan, he said.
Tshabalala-Msimang and Sefularo were briefed by health workers, said national health department spokesperson Harry Mchunu.
The minister urged the community, and especially the students, to remain calm.
According to her, meningococcal meningitis was transmitted when people lived in close quarters.
”It is treatable if detected early, but people should be aware of its symptoms. It is a seasonal disease that is treatable through using prophylaxis,” Tshabalala-Msimang said in a statement.
The symptoms included a stiff neck, sore throat, severe headaches, rash and a high fever.
”The disease is highly infectious and its bacteria can be transmitted through the air via fine droplets of discharges expelled during talking, coughing or sneezing.” Mchunu said.
The minister had urged students to refrain from sharing items like cigarettes and glasses, and to refrain from visiting clubs. All health institutions and general practitioners in Potchefstroom had been alerted to enable them to correctly diagnose and treat the disease, he said.
According to Gaoganebiwe, a 24-hour operations centre was established which was managed by the local emergency services in conjunction with the SA National Defence Force. It appeared that the cases so far had been sporadic, and that they were limited to Potchefstroom and in particular the university, he said.
University spokesperson Frikkie Kotze said that classes had been suspended from 1pm on Monday until Wednesday morning. All students would be given a free dose of the preventative drug Ciprobay between 4pm and 10pm on Monday.
The drug takes effect within a day, according to Kotze. Gaoganebiwe said Tshabalala-Msimang had called on all university students who were at home to go to the institution to receive the treatment.
Phillip Pretorius (20) an education student at the University, died of meningitis last Wednesday. Second-year engineering student Andre van Bommel, also 20, died on Sunday night.
A female student at the Potchefstroom Beauty Academy died of meningitis at the end of June.
Five more people were treated. Another six were admitted to hospital on Monday with a high fever, but tests showed they did not have meningitis. – Sapa