Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

The spread of the deadly Ebola virus could result in a £20bn hit to economies in Africa and cause turmoil in financial markets, experts have warned.

The World Bank on Wednesday outlined a worst-case scenario that would see almost 12pc wiped off the economy of Liberia, the country worst affected by the outbreak, and 3.3pc off the entire west African region.

It came as analysts at Barclays predicted that if the virus establishes itself further in Asia or the West, the impact on financial markets could be severe, and is likely to be felt more than Asia’s SARS outbreak a decade ago.

Economists are beginning to count the cost of the Ebola crisis as the death toll climbs above 3,400 and shows signs of spreading beyond Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, where it has largely been contained so far.

Shares in UK-listed travel companies and airlines fell amid growing fears that the spread of the virus would hit demand. TUI Travel, easyJet and British Airways-owner IAG all dropped on Wednesday.