Ebola: US media hyped-up hysteria counter-productive

Panic Panic Panic - four cases of Ebola in the US as a result of contamination by someone who came out of Africa and the whole country goes up-side down. Even favorite Republican Senator McCaine is babbling all kinds of weird ideas -  including the need to appoint an Ebola Czar.

President Obama announced the creation of an emergency response team and that is probably all the US needs for the time being.

The contamination of the people in the US with Ebola happened at hospitals administered through the private health care sector.where apparently money, but not hygiene rules. 

In Europe there have also been a few reported Ebola cases but it does not mean that anyone is ready to topple the EU Commission or appoint an Ebola Czar

One should be concerned about Ebola but US media hyped-up  hysteria is not the answer.


EU-Digest

Global Economy: Wall Street braces for big losses as global stocks sink

Investor fear resumed Thursday as Wall Street looked set for another angst-ridden trading session triggered in part by worries that major economies around the world are seeing slowing growth.

The prospect of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa spiraling out of control is also weighing heavily.
U.S. stock futures wavered several hours ahead of the market open, before moving firmly lower Thursday. Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes are all off about 0.8% or more.

Stock markets in Asia tumbled earlier after Wall Street saw wild swings Wednesday before ending down 173 points.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index dived 2.3% Thursday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1%. China's Shanghai Composite index fell 0.7%.

European shares fared no better despite initially displaying some signs of stabilization following huge losses in the prior session.

The German DAX was down 1.7%. Spain's IBEX 35 index tanked 2%. Italy's FTSE MIB closed in on a 3% loss.

The fate of Greece was a particular concern in Europe. Investors are worried the country might need more financial support as its government borrowing rates have risen sharply in recent days. Greece's benchmark 10-year-bond yield rose 1.13 percentage points Thursday to 8.86%.

Oil prices continued to come under pressure.

U.S. crude was down over 2% to $79.91 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 6 cents to close at $81.78 on Wednesday.

Read more: Wall Street braces for big losses as global stocks sink

Health Alert: Ebola now taking toll on doctors

An Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 670 people in Africa is now taking a toll on doctors and health care workers battling the deadly disease.

A government official in Liberia said Sunday that one of that country's highest-profile doctors has died in what the World Health Organization (WHO) calls the largest recorded outbreak of the disease.

An American doctor who has been working in Liberia since October 2013 for the North Carolina-based aid organization Samaritan's Purse is receiving intensive medical treatment after he was infected with Ebola, according to a spokeswoman for the organization.

Melissa Strickland said Kent Brantly, 33, was in stable condition, talking with his doctors and working on his computer while being treated. She cautioned that he is "not out of the woods yet." Strickland said patients have a better chance of survival if they receive treatment immediately after being infected, as Brantly did.
Brantly, who is married with two children and is medical director for the Samaritan's Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center in Monrovia, is being treated at a Samaritan's Purse isolation center, according to Strickland.

Samaritan's Purse said later Sunday that a second U.S. citizen, Nancy Writebol, also has tested positive for Ebola. Writebol is employed by mission group SIM in Liberia and was helping a joint SIM/Samaritan's Purse team treating Ebola patients in Monrovia. Writebol is married with two children, the organization said.

Read more: Ebola now taking toll on doctors