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Lovers of bat meals in the Ashanti Region and across the country may have to painfully search for other delicacies as the Ashanti Regional Director of Health, Dr. Alexis Nang, has asked those hunting for bats to put a hold on their expedition, to help efforts at saving the country from the deadly hemorrhagic disease, Ebola. The health directorate has also warned farmers to desist from picking up dead or sick animals on their hunting expeditions. The Regional Health Director, gave the warning at an encounter with the media in Kumasi. A total of 161 cases of Ebola have so far been recorded in Guinea, Sierra Leon and Liberia with 112 deaths. But no case has been recorded in Ghana although cave bats which have been identified as potential carriers of the virus, have been found in the Brong Ahafo Region. Cautioning hunters in the region, Dr. Nang said although bats in Ghana have been screened and certified safe for consumption, it is also important that the country treads cautiously and for hunters to note that dead animals are potential carriers of the Ebola virus. �The emphasis is that, those who hunt for the bats for now should cease till we are fully cleared. But for all hunters who go hunting and see dead or sick animals, you should leave them alone because they are potential time bombs. They have a high probability of containing the Ebola virus� he cautioned. He has also advised residents who patronize game to do well to properly cook the meat before consuming it. He noted �the trick about eating bush meat is not the eating of the bush meat but the preparation of the meat.� Meanwhile as part of measures to avoid the spread of the disease in the event of any suspected case, the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate has selected the Tafo and Kumasi South Hospitals as isolation places for suspected symptoms of the Ebola disease. Explaining the function of the centers, Mr. Nang said �the idea is to avoid carrying patients across the region or the metropolis and spreading any epidemic prone disease.� �If anyone is detected to have any suspicious disease in any hospital which has no isolation area to deal effectively with the disease, we will ask them to go there straightaway and not to go to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital where the disease could spread. And if any one transiting is known to be carrying an epidemic prone disease, the person will be directed to any of these two hospitals,� he added. He indicated that the budget to convert these facilities into full functional isolation centers has been submitted to the headquarters of the Ghana Health Service. The completion of these facilities will constitute a major boost to Ghana�s efforts at securing the nation against the dreaded Ebola disease.