There is no cause for panic over the outbreak of suspected haemorrhagic fever in Gauteng which has claimed three lives, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said on Thursday.

Briefing the media after Cabinet's regular meeting on Wednesday, Maseko said the executive was satisfied that health authorities and professionals had responded quickly, appropriately, and with the highest levels of professionalism to contain the suspected virus.

"The meeting was satisfied that the department of health, together with health professionals and experts from both the public and private sectors, were doing all that is necessary to prevent the spread of the virus and ensure that there is no further loss of life," he said.

The National Outbreak Response Team was working around the clock to support the provincial outbreak response teams with guidelines, active field surveillance, and tracing contacts.

A rapid response team had been established, consisting of public and private health sector representatives, to co-ordinate efforts to deal with the situation promptly.

This team met every day to co-ordinate responses and constantly monitored the situation in all hospitals and clinics.

Seeking foreign help

Government was also working with the World Health Organisation and the United States Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to access their global expertise in dealing with outbreak responses.

The CDC had undertaken to expedite the processing of samples to ensure test results were made available as quickly as possible, he said.

An Emergency Medical Services hotline (011-564-2083) had been established to deal with enquiries.

Health care workers were being trained to deal with patients showing symptoms of viral haemorrhagic fevers, and Port Health Services were being strengthened to deal with any situation, as were members of the Border Control Operational Co-ordinating Committee.

"Government's message to the public is 'do not panic, we are dealing with the situation'.

"We will continue to monitor the situation very closely and we are confident that the test results will shed more light on this virus so that appropriate measures could be put in place as soon as possible," Maseko said.

Sapa