A three-year-old girl died from meningitis in Lenasia, bringing to three the number of deaths from the illness in the province, the Gauteng health department said on Saturday.
Spokesman JP Louw confirmed that the child died on Friday because of meningococcal meningitis.
She lived in the Thembasile informal settlement, near Lenasia South.
"Parents, children attending crèche with Thembasile and other close contacts were provided medication as well as educational information on meningitis," Louw said.
According to the department, there has been a steady decline in meningitis cases in the past few years with 35 cases reported countrywide this year compared to 50 reported countrywide between January and March last year.
In Gauteng, there were 31 cases last year. There had been 12 so far this year. There have been two confirmed fatalities KwaZulu-Natal.
Tests could not be conducted on a girl from Eldorado Park who died of suspected meningitis, as she was buried quickly, in accordance with her religious beliefs.
A fourth death in Gauteng, initially thought to have been from the disease, was eventually attributed to another cause.
The department could not confirm reports of 18 cases in the Western Cape.
