Fears of the Ebola virus outbreak continue to make their mark on the travel industry, with major airline stocks taking a hit on Monday, Business Insider reports.
As of Monday afternoon, United Airlines shares were down eight percent, Delta shares were down seven percent, American Airlines shares were down six percent and shares of JetBlue and Southwest Airlines were down five percent, Business Insider said. In all, these stocks have lost at least 13 percent over the past five trading days, except for American Airlines, which saw a 19 percent decline.
The second Dallas Ebola patient has been identified as health care worker Nina Pham, USA Today reports. Pham was infected while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient to die in the U.S., making Pham the first case of Ebola transmission within the United States.
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thomas Frieden described Pham's condition as "clinically stable," USA Today said.
Government Response
Last week saw a popular call grow for a ban on travel from the West African nations hardest-hit by the virus.
RELATED: Weekly Wrap: Call for Ebola Travel Ban Grows
In response to the infection of Nina Pham, Frieden told Reuters, "We have to rethink the way we address Ebola infection control. Even a single infection is unacceptable. The care of Ebola is hard. We're working to make it safer and easier."
Update 10/14/14 9:45 a.m.: President Obama met with aides regarding the new patient, USA Today reports.
"The President was briefed on the status of the investigation into the apparent breach in infection control protocols at the Dallas hospital and remedial actions underway to mitigate similar breaches in the future," said a White House statement via USA Today. The White House had added a "surge in personnel" and other measures to heighten awareness and training for healthcare workers throughout the U.S.
The current Ebola outbreak, the worst on record, has so far killed more than 4,000 people, mostly in the West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for further updates on this developing story.