
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 10, 1995                   TAG: 9505100060
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: KINSHASA, ZAIRE                                LENGTH: Medium

CITY QUARANTINED IN ZAIRE AS SUSPECTED VIRUS KILLS 100

Soldiers blocked routes into a city of 600,000 that was placed under quarantine Tuesday after more than 100 people died of a mysterious disease that may be caused by one of the world's deadliest viruses.

A consultant for the World Health Organization said the Ebola virus was responsible for the deaths. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was sending a team of investigators equipped with protective suits and respirators, in cooperation with the World Health Organization.

``With the little we know, we're going to have to assume that this could be Biosafety Level 4,'' the highest level of concern of infection, said Dr. Rima Khabbaz, an infectious disease specialist at the centers.

The investigators weren't expected to arrive in Kinshasa for at least two days, said CDC spokesman Bob Howard.

CDC experts were analyzing victims' blood samples, which arrived from Zaire on Monday, Howard said. The testing could take as long as 72 hours, he said.

Dr. Muyembe Tamfun, a microbiologist and consultant to WHO, blamed the Ebola virus for the illness that began sweeping Kikwit, 375 miles east of Kinshasa, the capital, in mid-April.

Ebola, which causes hemorrhaging, fevers and vomiting - the same symptoms suffered by the victims in Kikwit - was considered the most deadly virus before the appearance of HIV, which causes AIDS. Ebola kills about 90 percent of those it infects, and there is no treatment or vaccine.

The virus' ferocity has given it notoriety in popular culture. Ebola was the virus fought in the movie ``Robin Cook's `Virus,''' which appeared Monday on NBC television. The recent movie ``Outbreak'' concerned a hemorrhagic virus that first appeared in Zaire, although it was not specifically named as Ebola.

Doctors have not confirmed the cause of the outbreak, Khabbaz said. She acknowledged that Ebola ``is a suspect any time you hear of anything with bleeding and hemorrhage.''

Ebola is spread through bodily fluids and secretions, though not through casual contact.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB