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Return To Kikwit

NPR's Michael Skoler visits Kikwit, Zaire almost a year after the ebola (ee-BOH-lah) epidemic broke out there. The virus appeared in May last year and is usually fatal. The epidemic was stopped but left 244 people dead. Scientists from the U-S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are testing samples of tens of thousands of insects and animals taken from the forest where the virus originated but still have not found the source. Hospital workers in Kikwit are still reluctant to treat patients, and while many people have overcome their fear of the disease, there remain superstitions and misinformation among the population.

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