The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced banning �bush meat� once the dreaded Ebola virus is detected in the country. Ebola has yet not been confirmed in Ghana, although, there have been about 60 suspected cases, which have all tested negative.
Game (popularly known as bush meat) has so far been identified as a number one carrier of the Ebola virus. To the GHS, they cannot simply ban �bush meat� on the grounds of an Ebola scare by some section of the media, but said precautionary measures must be taken on what to eat.
The GHS made the announcement last week at a special media engagement on Ebola in Accra.
The media encounter revealed Ghana�s preparedness to tackle the Ebola disease sweeping through the West Africa Sub-region like never before, and killing over 1,013 people, while affecting over 1,848 persons in endemic countries such as Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria.
The GHS says what it needs to fight the virus was funds to finance its programmes, especially, media sensitisation and awareness drive to get the public well informed about the epidemic.
Major preventive measures preached by the Health Service were personal hygiene (regular washing of hand with soap), people reporting cases early to nearby health facilities, and also breaking away from some traditional and religious beliefs and practices.
�As we speak, there is no traditional medicine or religious leader that can treat Ebola,� the Director of Diseases Control Division, GHS, Dr. Kyei Faried, said.
He emphasised that the battle against Ebola needs a collective effort by all, though the GHS has taken the first step in mounting surveillance at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), where health declaration forms are issued alongside the screening of persons from endemic countries and prevention of suspected individuals from spreading the disease by keeping them in holding rooms.
Also, the Ministry of Health has ordered 10,000 safety gear for health workers deployed to fight the disease at centres created across the country.
According to Dr. Faried, there would be regional centers aside the three main centers constructed in Tema, Kumasi and Tamale, to manage the virus, once it is detected.
He, however, urged the media not to peddle an Ebola scare, but rather feed the general public with the right information, since the scare could frighten health workers to abandon their posts.
�If we don�t take care, Ebola scare will destabilise the whole country,� he cautioned.
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