The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has begun a capacity building exercise of frontline health professionals in the handling of suspected Ebola cases. 

Health professionals from Greater Accra Region were the first to receive the training at a symposium held at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KATH), Thursday.

The association says it wants to ensure that all its members and other medical professionals who are likely to handle suspected Ebola cases are adequately informed about the disease and its handling.

“We realised that not all health professionals have adequate knowledge about Ebola and its management as well as preventive practices whiles on the job”, Dr. Justice Yankson, Deputy General Secretary of the GMA told Joy News.

He said the training will also focus on checklists all health professionals on the health delivery chain must go through to prevent infection.

As part of the training, the health professionals will also receive updates on basic practices such as blood sample taking and labelling, Dr Yankson said -- revealing that some blood samples sent to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) for testing of suspected Ebola cases were not done according to standards.

The Health Ministry says all the 16 suspected Ebola cases tested at NMIMR have all proved negative, as fears of an outbreak of the deadly disease rage in Ghana.

The disease has killed thousands in the West African sub-region, especially in Liberia and Sierra Leone.