The Western Cape Health Department has confirmed the viral meningitis cases in Mossel Bay has risen to 41.
Patients have been hospitalised at a private facility since the outbreak in December.
Mostly children under 12 are infected.
They have all been treated in an isolated ward.
The department’s Marika Champion says seven new cases of viral meningitis in Mossel Bay have been reported to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) since the weekend.
“It has not spread beyond the Mossel Bay area, it is still contained in the area.”
The outbreak has also forced the temporary closure of a pre-primary school in the Garden Route town.
The department has urged parents to teach their children to wash their hands properly as the virus is likely to spread through contact.NEWS24