Kikwit, Zaire -- The international team investigating the epidemic of Ebola has discovered a family that suffered a devastating loss to the disease in December: Seven of 12 family members died, all within a period of roughly two weeks around Christmas.

The family, according to scientists here working with the World Health Organization, are Jehovah's Witnesses. As such, they do not believe in consuming meat that is perfused with blood. Here, that translates into draining the blood from live animals.

The scientists speculate that members of the family may have become exposed while preparing a meal of whatever animal actually carries the Ebola virus. Scientists will now scour the areas of Kikwit from which the family's meat supply reportedly came in search of the source of the deadly virus.

Another puzzle researchers will now focus on concerns transmissions outside the family. So far, it seems, the Jehovah's Witnesses group had few outside contacts, and that their Ebola episode likely was not a contributor to the overall epidemic. But the search is on for connections between that family disaster and the larger crisis. More than 100 people reportedly have died since the epidemic began.