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The President of the Ghana Medical Association ( GMA) , Dr Poku Adusei has urged the public to desist from substituting washing of hands with soap under running water with the use of sanitisers as part of Ebola preventive measures. According to him, although the hand sanitisers were helpful if the alcohol concentration was 70 per cent and above, washing of hands with soap under running water was preferable and cheaper. Addressing a forum on Ebola in Accra yesterday, he said in the absence of tap water or Veronica Buckets, clean water could be poured over the hand with the help of another person. Dr Adusei, therefore, urged event organisers and the public to ensure that facilities for proper hand washing, such as Veronica Buckets, were made available at all public gatherings. He called on the public to continue to adhere to Ebola preventive measures recommended by health experts, particularly, imbibing body and environmental hygiene and avoiding contact with the body and body fluids of infected persons. That, he said was necessary because the Ebola viral disease ( EVD) had no confirmed vaccine or cure and was spread from human-to-human through direct contact with bodies and body fliuds of infected persons. �The GMA will continue to support the government in the national Ebola campaign� he added. TV3 Ebola forum The forum was organised by TV3 network aimed at raising more awareness on the EVD which is reported to have killed more than 5000 people in the West African sub-region since the current outbreak started in March this year. It formed part of TV3�s continuous support to the national Ebola preparedness campaign. The forum was supported by the Ministry of Health and Finatrade Limited and brought together key stakeholders, including the GMA, the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, journalists, representatives from the United Nations and a section of the public. In his welcoming address, the Chief Executive Officer of TV3, Mr Augustus Dickson, reiterated the need for all stakeholders to come on board the national campaign and fight against the deadly Ebola disease. He said even though prevalence rate in affected countries, including Liberia, was declining, it was obviously not an indication that countries yet to record a case of the EVD, particularly Ghana , to relent on their preparedness efforts. In his remarks, a Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Victor Bampoe reiterated that Ghana had not recorded any confirmed case of Ebola yet, even though it had recorded 120 suspected cases. Notwithstanding, he said Ghana would not relent on its preparedness effort at ensuring an Ebola Free Ghana and was ready to promptly pick and manage any unforeseen circumstance. The government had put in place a number of preparedness measures to prevent the EVD from coming to Ghana and to manage any unforeseen circumstance in Ghana effectively. The measures include a surveillance system, the provision of two temperature walk in scanners at the Kotoka International Airport, the prevision of hand held temperature scanners at various approved entry points, hospitals and tertiary institutions and the establishment of Ebola Centres as well as holding areas. In her remarks, the Country Director of WHO, Dr Magda Rabalo said coordination was very crucial to making strides in the national Ebola campaign despite the available resources. She, therefore, commended the Ghana government for the effective local coordination of Ebola activities and for coordinating Ebola response in the sub-region effectively. She called for more donor support for affected Ebola countries to enable them reduce prevalence rate in those countries to Zero. Must read Ebola viral Disease, previously known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a rare and deadly disease caused by the Ebola virus. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and or tissues of infected animals or people. Symptoms may appear anywhere from two to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is eight to 10 days. Initial signs and symptoms are nonspecific, but may include fever, chills, muscle and pain. Recovery from Ebola depends on the patient�s immune response. People who recover from Ebola infection develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years. At this time, there isn�t a vaccine for Ebola, hence raising awareness of Ebola risk factors and practising infection prevention measures are the best ways to reduce illness and deaths from Ebola.