Ebola Death Toll Passes 100; Workers Scour City For Cases Epidemic May Have Started As Long Ago As December

The death toll from the Ebola virus topped 100 Sunday and health workers said the epidemic may have started as long ago as December - three months earlier than previously thought.

Medical workers scouring Kikwit, a city of 600,000 where the outbreak was previously believed to have started in mid-March, found hospital records linking the virus to a household of 12 people, where seven people died in December.

Tests confirmed that at least one of the victims had Ebola, and researchers were trying to determine whether the others did as well, the World Health Organization said.

If the victims died quickly and had little contact with other people, doctors said the family might not be linked to the current outbreak. If they had contact, the outbreak would be three months older than previously thought.

Ebola is spread by bodily fluids, which are easily passed on by victims who die with diarrhea and vomiting, and with blood pouring from their eyes, ears and noses.

Tests for the virus were being conducted in a new field laboratory in Kikwit, WHO said. Previously, blood samples had to be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

“Only a few specialized places in the world were able to handle this work because the disease is so dangerous,” said Valery Abramov, a WHO spokesman in Geneva.

“The fact that this laboratory has now been set up is extremely welcome as it cuts down tremendously the time needed to confirm new cases.”

The number of those cases kept rising, and the four additional deaths in the Kikwit area announced Sunday brought the death toll to 101. At least 36 more people were infected.

The rising number of deaths prompted officials to speed up the relief effort, flying in medical supplies a day ahead of schedule to help medical workers prevent the spread of the virus, said Larry Sthreshley, a coordinator of the relief operation.

The plane carried face masks, gloves and other protective clothing. In the past week, relief shipments have supplied 40 bicycles, eight motorcycles and several cars to help investigators searching house to house for more Ebola cases.

The increased mobility of the searchers may be responsible for the climb in reported cases.

Meanwhile, the outbreak had all but disappeared from newspaper headlines in the capital Kinshasa, 250 miles west of Kikwit.

Many residents of the capital believe the virus does not exist, blaming the deaths on an evil spell cast on a doctor who stole diamonds.

“There’s no reason to worry,” taxi driver Jean Papa told a reporter. “There is no epidemic, Madam, there is no epidemic.”