Ministry, World Vision launch Ebola awareness week
The World Vision Ghana, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service yesterday launched the Ebola Viral Disease Awareness Week to sensitise the public to the Ebola virus.
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This follows the outbreak of the virus in some countries in the West African sub-region.
The Ebola virus disease (EVD) is caused by the Zaire ebolavirus, called simply Ebola virus (EBOV). The current outbreak is the most severe yet in terms of the number of human cases and fatalities since the discovery of the virus in 1976.
The outbreak began in Guinea in December 2013 but was not detected until March 2014, after which it spread to Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and now Nigeria.
As of August 11, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) had reported a total of 1,975 suspected cases and 1,069 deaths (1,251 cases and 686 deaths being laboratory confirmed) making this the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.
All hands on deck
Addressing the launch in Accra, the Deputy Director of Disease Control of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Kyei Faried, said to be able to properly address the Ebola disease as a problem in Ghana, leadership was needed at every level.
Dr Faried said people feared Ebola not because of its treatment but how to make sure the germ did not get to an individual.
Therefore, he said, at the treatment centres, doctors would need to be properly equipped with enough resources for them to be able to battle the disease.
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Be responsible
Touching on the preventive measures of the virus, Dr Faried said the public needed to be responsible for one another and ensure that those who were infected by the disease willingly reported themselves to the designated hospitals.
He said there was the need for citizens to also desist from unnecessary handshakes at social gatherings such as funerals, church services and other activities that might involve handshakes.
“If someone has the virus and the person coughs and you are close by, you will get infected. If an infected person’s sweat touches you, you will get infected. So it is important to stay an arm’s length from individuals with the disease and also desist from body contacts with them,” he explained.
Dr Faried added that the Ebola disease was preventable and its prevention required frequent hand washing with soap and water, as well as an early report to the nearest health facility for those who might be infected.
Take hand washing seriously
Launching the awareness week, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, said the public needed to be very cautious about themselves and also take hand washing seriously.
“These are hard times with the outbreak of Cholera and Ebola at the same time; we need to take hand washing seriously to prevent one from coming into contact with the disease,” he said.
Dead bats, mokeys
He also advised the public not to touch or handle dead or live animals such as bats and monkeys with their bare hands as they were possible carriers of the virus.
In his remarks, the National Director of World Vision Ghana, Mr Hubert Charles, said the organisation recognised the effort of the government and its stakeholders at putting together some preventive measures to fight the disease.
He, therefore, pledged the organisation’s support to help fight the Ebola virus both internally and externally.