<b>Acknowledgement:</b> The ATPAST concept and acronym originated by Professor Clement Dzidonu of the Accra Institute Technology (AIT) is premised on the fact the essential details of deseases of any nature including all types of virus deseases can be described and communicated to the public at large in terms of ATPAST.  We can within this framework talk about an ATPAST for Cholera, Ebola, Malaria etc. For any Desease/Medical Ailement or Condition  its ATPAST provides the details of the ‘6-Must-Knows’in terms of:

<b style="color:red">About</b> the Disease
How is it <b style="color:red">Transmitted</b>?
How it can be <b style="color:red">Prevented</b> and <b style="color:red">Avoided</b>?
What are its <b style="color:red">Symptoms</b>?
What are the known <b style="color:red">Treatments?</b>

We may not as yet have a single case of Ebola in Ghana; but for sure we do have in Ghana an Ebola Emergency given what is happening the our sister countries in the Sub-region. If your neighbour’s house is on fire, you don’t only go looking for a bucket, but also look for water to stop you neighbour’s fire and at the same time be ready with buckets of water to put out the fire in your own house just in case the fire spreads to your house.What is for certain is that, our neighbours’ houses are fire and they are strongly to put it off, and we cannot just stand by and hope and pray that the fire does not spread to  our house, we must treat this as an emergency situation and be battle ready to prevent to fire from reaching us in the first place.

<b>Stage 2. Implement community-based surveillance</b>
• Explain and make known the early warning system in the community.
• Identify resource persons (community health-care workers, Red Cross volunteers, religiousleaders, traditional midwives, traditional healers, village chiefs, etc.) and train them incommunity-based surveillance.
• Organize regular health promotion activities in communities, especially those in risk areas andthose engaged in risk activities (hunters, mineworkers, et. al).• Disseminate simplified case definitions for community use.
• Engage resource persons to report any suspicion or rumour to health-care facilities or health-careworkers and apply basic hygiene practices.
• Provide feedback to resource persons about the status of reported rumours

<b>Among opinion makers (government, traditional, community, religious, sports, etc.):</b>
• Ask for their support and contribution to adapting control measures within the communitysettings and to identify potential barriers and solutions.
• Ask for their support to conduct and organize awareness-raising activities to enhance theinvolvement of all community entities• Anticipate and mediate potential conflicts of interest within the community
• Request their support to organize and implement psychosocial assistance and supportactivities
• Mobilize all relevant community structures to promote compliance with preventionprogrammes and programmes to contain transmission of the disease

<b>In the community</b>
• Conduct intensive dialogue on the control measures and how it reduces exposure andtransmission of the disease at home and in the community. Use trusted and credible peopleand appropriate channels (education of village chiefs, use of printed support materials –posters, brochures – radio messages, public meetings)
• Understand the views of the population from their sociocultural perspective and respond totheir needs and concerns accordingly• Engage with those in high-risk occupations (hunters, health care workers, nursing staff,miners, persons conducting burials, traditional healers, wildlife officers, ecologists,veterinarians, etc.)
• Identify and activate ways to reach women e.g. through women’s organizations, becausewomen are often the ones in charge of home care or funerals in the affected populations.
• Meet with traditional healers to bring awareness to VHF and promote the use of standardprecautions• Encourage community compliance with the recommended outbreak control measures
• Strengthen the capacity of community workers: To promote the implementation of standard precautions when caring for sick peoplein the home and when handling and disposing of dead animals found in the forest, To promote community participation in epidemiological surveillance at thecommunity level (reporting, alert)
• Promote the organization of safe burials by specialized teams under the supervision of themedical team, respecting funeral ceremonies
• Encourage the community to take suspected viral haemorrhagic fever cases to see a healthcare worker (surveillance team) without delay.
• Discredit myths through providing responses that are both accurate and that resonate withthe communityFor Ebola and Marburg, the following information may be used at the community level The investigation teams must identify the main transmission risks and experts must choose keyinformation and priority interventions in accordance with local circumstances. This includes risk of:• wild animal-to-human transmission;
• human-to-human transmission in the community through contact;
• human-to-human transmission in the community during funerals; and
• human-to-human transmission through inappropriate use of injection material.

1. In order to reduce the risk of wild animal-to-human transmission following contact with wildanimals (e.g. monkeys and other primates, forest antelopes, porcupines, bats, etc.), after handlinganimal tissue, during slaughtering or butchering, and after consumption of raw meat:
• avoid touching already dead or sick animals in the forest;
• in Ebola- or Marburg-endemic areas, only eat bats and bush meat that have been well-cooked;
• during work, research activities, or tourism in mines or caves inhabited by bat colonies, weargloves and appropriate PPE (including masks);• wear gloves and other appropriate protective clothing when handling wild animals or their tissueand during slaughtering procedures;
• wash hands immediately after taking off gloves and other PPE.

2. In order to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission in the community through direct orclose contact with infected patients, especially body fluids:
• avoid touching the patient without protection. Any close physical contact with a suspected Ebolaor Marburg patient must be avoided;• avoid touching the patients’ body fluids, either on the patient or in their environment;
• wear gloves and appropriate PPE in home-care settings;
• wash hands immediately after taking off gloves or other PPE;
• wash hands with soap each time after visiting sick relatives in hospital or after providing homecare;
• report suspected cases detected in the community immediately to the response teams and sendthe patient to a health-care centre; and
• prohibit the injection of medication at home during outbreaks.

3. In order to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission within the community duringfunerals, e.g. through direct or close contact with the body of the deceased, especially with bodyfluids:
• bury deceased Ebola or Marburg patients quickly and safely in the presence of their family or atleast a representative and
• avoid touching the body of the deceased without appropriate protection.

4. In order to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission through inappropriate use ofinjection material (needles, syringes, bottles, etc.):
• use only disposable injection material and
• refer persons requiring injections to a health-care centre for treatment. 


1. In order to reduce the risk of wild animal-to-human transmission following contact with wildanimals (e.g. monkeys and other primates, forest antelopes, porcupines, bats, etc.), after handlinganimal tissue, during slaughtering or butchering, and after consumption of raw meat:
• avoid touching already dead or sick animals in the forest;
• in Ebola- or Marburg-endemic areas, only eat bats and bush meat that have been well-cooked;
• during work, research activities, or tourism in mines or caves inhabited by bat colonies, weargloves and appropriate PPE (including masks);
• wear gloves and other appropriate protective clothing when handling wild animals or their tissueand during slaughtering procedures;
• wash hands immediately after taking off gloves and other PPE.

2. In order to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission in the community through direct orclose contact with infected patients, especially body fluids:
• avoid touching the patient without protection. Any close physical contact with a suspected Ebolaor Marburg patient must be avoided;
• avoid touching the patients’ body fluids, either on the patient or in their environment;
• wear gloves and appropriate PPE in home-care settings;• wash hands immediately after taking off gloves or other PPE;• wash hands with soap each time after visiting sick relatives in hospital or after providing homecare;
• report suspected cases detected in the community immediately to the response teams and sendthe patient to a health-care centre; and
• prohibit the injection of medication at home during outbreaks.

3. In order to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission within the community duringfunerals, e.g. through direct or close contact with the body of the deceased, especially with bodyfluids:
• bury deceased Ebola or Marburg patients quickly and safely in the presence of their family or atleast a representative and• avoid touching the body of the deceased without appropriate protection. 

4. In order to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission through inappropriate use ofinjection material (needles, syringes, bottles, etc.):
• use only disposable injection material and
• refer persons requiring injections to a health-care centre for treatment.
<img src="images/ebola1.png" style="width:100%"/>

The ATPAST on Ebola  [The 6 ‘Must-Knows’ on Ebola]About Ebola (What is the Ebola Virus Disease and How is it Caused)How is it Transmitted? (Animal-to-Human and Human-to-Human)How can it be Prevented and Avoided ?What are its Symptoms?What are the known Treatments for it

<b>People on the Frontline</b>
People might have heard about Ebola, but not many may Know what Ebola is all about. Hearing about Ebola is not the same thing as knowing about EbolaThe Frontline for the fight of Ebola is the People, not World Health Organization (WHO), not the Government, not a Ministry or Agency or an Organization or Hospital, not the President nor Ministers . It is people who catch Ebola not WHO, it is people who suffer from the pains of Ebola symptoms, not the Government, it is People who need to Avoid Ebola and prevent themselves from Catching it, not the Ministry of Health, it is People who are likely to spread Ebola, and it is people who are to be treated if they catch Ebola, not the Treatment Center or Hospital. It is people, people, people who are in the frontline.So any Ebola mitigation and prevention strategy or mechanism that is not people-centered is bound to be costly and likely to fail or take much, much longer time to work if it works at all at a high astronomical cost to the nation and society at large.It costs much much more to fix a problem than to prevent a problem.With the unprecedented nature of the nature and the spread of the current ebola epidemic we are all at maximum risk.It is later than we thought, the time to act is now. What we have is worse than Ebola, it is an Ebola Emergency that if not addressed with Emergency measures, can inflict on us a major health, economic, social and financial crisis at the national, households and individual levels.The ’10-Minutes’ RuleTo address the Ebola Emergence, it required a conceited effort at all levels: national, community, organizational, households, family and individual levels. It is not just about Government and its Agencies and International Partners.

<u>Individual Responsibility</u>
As an individual, take it upon yourself to educate yourself on all  you need to know about Ebola by reading on the  6 ‘Must-Knows’ on Ebola

<u>Parental Responsibility</u>
Parents if you care about the lives of your children, then sit them down for at least ’10-minutes’ each day and take then through the 6 ‘Must-Knows’ on Ebola

<u>Religious Responsibility</u>
Religious leaders at all level, take some (10 minutes) of your preaching/sermon time to talk to your congregation/worshippers in your churches, mosques, synagogues etc. on key aspects of the 6 ‘Must-Knows’ on Ebola

<u>Educational  Responsibility</u>
Headmasters/Headmistresses/School Teachers use section of daily assemble and class hours to educate your school children on the Ebola 6 ‘Must-Knows’ and encourage them to spread the word in their homes and communitiesHeads of Universities and Colleges, take it upon yourself to lead the Know-About-Ebola campaign in your institution and encourage your students to go beyond their campuses to educate and raise awareness on the Ebola 6 ‘Must-Knows’ in their community and the public at Large

<u>Organizational Responsibility</u>
Heads of Public Organizations/Agencies/Companies/Establishment, hold  workers’ durbars to educate and raise awareness on the 6 ‘Must-Knows’ of Ebola among your workers. Also commit to raising awareness on Ebola among your clients/customers/constituents and those you serve as an organization

<u>Traditional and Community Responsibility</u>
Chiefs/Traditional Leaders/Community Leaders organise public awareness campaigns  to educate those you lead on the various aspects of the 6 ‘Must-Knows’ on Ebola

<u>Political Responsibility</u>
Politicians/ Local Government Representatives, Leaders and Administrators, Educate and raise awareness in your constituencies and communities on the 6 ‘Must-Knows’ on Ebola