00:01:03.550 --> 00:01:10.260
This whole idea to go to India by car
had an air of an adventure.

00:01:11.710 --> 00:01:15.190
We were regarded
with skepticism.

00:01:17.080 --> 00:01:20.850
Especially since the little Fiat car
didn’t inspire confidence,

00:01:20.890 --> 00:01:23.970
it was hard to believe it could
get us all the way there.

00:02:19.890 --> 00:02:24.180
Before my trip to Asia,
I had to get vaccinated.

00:02:24.220 --> 00:02:28.430
Not only because of India,
but also Afghanistan and Pakistan.

00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:37.500
Luckily, that vaccine still protected me
in March 1972,

00:02:37.540 --> 00:02:41.320
when the smallpox epidemic hit Yugoslavia.

00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:50.800
The eradication program of smallpox
was still under way, back then.

00:05:17.130 --> 00:05:21.120
ANOTHER SPRING

00:06:09.010 --> 00:06:16.090
On their way back from the pilgrimage
in Mecca and Medina, in 1972,

00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:21.720
one of the busses
changed the itinerary

00:06:22.010 --> 00:06:27.770
and not only that they visited
several mosques in Baghdad,

00:06:28.610 --> 00:06:32.850
but they also paid a visit
to the famous Baghdad bazaar.

00:06:45.060 --> 00:06:48.940
The hajjis have bought
a bunch of souvenirs,

00:06:49.050 --> 00:06:52.900
gifts for their families
back home.

00:06:57.150 --> 00:07:00.000
Everyone mentions
this pair of whistle pipes

00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:04.480
that Ibrahim Hoti bought
on February 6th,

00:07:04.550 --> 00:07:08.170
on that very bazaar in Baghdad.

00:07:15.130 --> 00:07:19.620
Theoretically speaking,
one of these items

00:07:19.810 --> 00:07:23.450
could have served as the source
of transmission of the disease.

00:07:23.490 --> 00:07:28.430
But it is much more likely
that it was Ibrahim Hoti himself.

00:08:26.400 --> 00:08:33.740
The bus with Ibrahim Hoti,
continued towards Yugoslavia.

00:08:34.060 --> 00:08:38.040
On February 15th,
they crossed the border.

00:09:14.530 --> 00:09:19.290
He arrived home,
and the next day he felt ill.

00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:25.110
According to some testimonies,

00:09:25.250 --> 00:09:32.520
on February 18th,
he spent the entire night in fever,

00:09:32.590 --> 00:09:34.590
shivering by the fireplace.

00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:05.710
He had a relatively mild case
of smallpox,

00:10:05.800 --> 00:10:13.820
and on Friday, February 21st,
he went to Gjakova.

00:10:27.140 --> 00:10:30.870
Ibrahim visited the three locations

00:10:30.910 --> 00:10:36.310
where everyone who later got infected
was also present at some point.

00:10:38.530 --> 00:10:42.250
The covered market in Gjakova,

00:10:47.430 --> 00:10:52.110
the local bus line Gjakova – Zrze,

00:10:57.910 --> 00:11:01.300
and the Xhafer’s inn.

00:11:11.310 --> 00:11:14.030
It is crucial for the rest of the story

00:11:14.090 --> 00:11:19.830
that one more person, Ljatif Mumdžić,
was also present at all these places.

00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:24.200
A schoolteacher
from a village near Novi Pazar,

00:11:24.390 --> 00:11:30.310
who unfortunately came to Gjakova
on that very day,

00:11:30.680 --> 00:11:34.170
to enroll
Higher Pedagogical School.

00:12:03.610 --> 00:12:09.270
Ljatif began to feel ill
on March 3rd.

00:12:10.170 --> 00:12:13.140
He went to a doctor,
got some medications,

00:12:13.180 --> 00:12:17.370
and the next day he felt even worse.

00:12:18.330 --> 00:12:21.650
He gets penicillin shots,
the diagnose is angina.

00:12:31.170 --> 00:12:35.150
On March 6th,
he was all covered in rash.

00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:50.300
It was logical for the doctor to assume

00:12:50.810 --> 00:12:55.580
that the patient who develops skin rash
after the penicillin treatment,

00:12:56.010 --> 00:12:59.410
has an allergic reaction to penicillin.

00:13:18.350 --> 00:13:22.060
For some strange reason,

00:13:22.380 --> 00:13:27.510
Ljatif wasn't put in an ambulance
to take him to hospital in Čačak.

00:13:30.690 --> 00:13:33.880
Instead,
he was left to get there on his own,

00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:39.710
with only his brother
to help him.

00:13:41.880 --> 00:13:46.160
They hitchhiked,
trying to get there anyway they could.

00:14:09.550 --> 00:14:15.670
On March 7th, he was admitted
to the Čačak hospital.

00:14:18.410 --> 00:14:22.240
No protection measures
are being taken.

00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:28.740
The case of Ljatif Mumdžić was atypical.

00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:33.160
Even an expert
would have difficulty recognizing it.

00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:42.280
And also, it was so improbable
that smallpox reappears after 42 years

00:14:42.530 --> 00:14:45.710
with the patient
who did not travel abroad.

00:14:56.810 --> 00:15:01.160
In the morning of March 9th,
Ljatif is put in an ambulance,

00:15:01.540 --> 00:15:05.290
together with a pregnant woman
and her husband.

00:15:26.520 --> 00:15:34.770
At 11am, Ljatif is admitted to
the Dermatology Clinic in Belgrade.

00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:44.630
Medical professors
are using this opportunity

00:15:44.670 --> 00:15:50.950
to show to their students
a florid case of penicillin allergy.

00:15:51.260 --> 00:15:56.730
So that several student groups
came into that room to see Ljatif.

00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:13.350
A little boy from the next room
often visited Ljatif's room,

00:16:13.390 --> 00:16:18.920
they called him Ljuba “the moth”
for being mischievous like a little moth.

00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:26.580
He was curious, he would come in asking:
"Mister, what's wrong? Can I help?"

00:16:35.020 --> 00:16:39.920
The doctor who treated the boy
got very fond of him,

00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:44.800
often telling him “Oh Ljuba, you silly boy,
you will never grow up.”

00:16:52.790 --> 00:16:59.810
Since the boy suffered from
a dermatological condition since birth,

00:17:00.140 --> 00:17:02.610
he was never vaccinated,

00:17:02.680 --> 00:17:06.700
and he developed
a severe case of smallpox,

00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:09.210
and died.

00:17:18.910 --> 00:17:23.580
In the afternoon,
Ljatif is feeling even worse,

00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:27.960
he goes to the toilet,
where he collapses.

00:17:33.990 --> 00:17:36.430
And the real drama begins.

00:17:50.090 --> 00:17:53.630
Dr Đurović, who was on duty
at the Dermatology Clinic,

00:17:54.250 --> 00:17:57.360
gathers six of his patients,

00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:01.990
those with mild
dermatological illnesses,

00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:10.170
to take the stretcher and carry Ljatif,
to the nearby Surgical Clinic.

00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:20.330
Rather unusual for Belgrade
in the year of 1972.

00:18:23.060 --> 00:18:27.270
It's a peculiar formation,
with Dr Đurović at the front,

00:18:30.830 --> 00:18:34.150
who later got smallpox
and luckily survived,

00:18:36.810 --> 00:18:38.960
followed by a medical assistant,

00:18:39.050 --> 00:18:44.210
and the six patients
in hospital pajamas,

00:18:44.780 --> 00:18:47.930
carrying Ljatif
on their shoulders.

00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:09.380
Ljatif arrives to
the First Surgical Clinic.

00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:17.090
The storage clerk
handles his bloody clothes,

00:19:17.280 --> 00:19:20.030
and he also gets infected.

00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:26.850
Ljatif is taken in the elevator
to the 2nd floor,

00:19:26.940 --> 00:19:31.260
but the intensive care is full,
11 patients are already there,

00:19:31.520 --> 00:19:34.910
and he is left on the stretcher.

00:19:41.600 --> 00:19:44.210
Doctors are examining him,

00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:46.910
concluding that Ljatif is not
a surgical case

00:19:47.270 --> 00:19:51.830
and he should be taken back
to the Dermatology Clinic.

00:19:54.530 --> 00:20:00.300
As they head towards the elevator,
he starts bleeding profusely,

00:20:00.590 --> 00:20:03.510
from his anus, mouth and nose.

00:20:03.780 --> 00:20:06.860
They don't have a choice
but to keep him there,

00:20:07.090 --> 00:20:10.370
only in a different part
of the intensive care.

00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:23.620
On March 10th, Dr Jugoslav Pantić
was the surgeon on duty.

00:20:24.360 --> 00:20:27.650
He examined Ljatif several times,

00:20:28.150 --> 00:20:30.610
he was pressing his head
against Ljatif’s chest,

00:20:31.090 --> 00:20:33.110
and he got infected.

00:20:51.380 --> 00:20:55.380
Dušica Spasić was a young nurse on duty.

00:20:58.710 --> 00:21:03.800
She was never vaccinated
against smallpox.

00:21:21.060 --> 00:21:26.930
She develops a grave,
hemorrhagic case of smallpox,

00:21:26.970 --> 00:21:29.600
and sadly she dies.

00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:55.410
Ljatif’s severe condition
is worsening even more during March 10th,

00:21:55.630 --> 00:21:58.750
and that evening
he passes away.

00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:15.590
His body is transferred
to the morgue,

00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:19.810
the next day
his brother arrives from Novi Pazar,

00:22:23.540 --> 00:22:25.740
the cause of death
was inconclusive,

00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:30.030
but the family
refuses the autopsy.

00:22:45.580 --> 00:22:50.960
The brother took
Ljatif's remains to Novi Pazar,

00:22:51.390 --> 00:22:59.720
and on the next day
he was buried according to Muslim tradition.

00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:08.830
We were told that the local Imam
has bathed him before the funeral.

00:23:13.990 --> 00:23:19.800
Considering the severity of the disease
from which Ljatif died,

00:23:19.850 --> 00:23:22.760
the so called
hemorrhagic type of smallpox,

00:23:24.510 --> 00:23:26.590
blood all over the skin,

00:23:26.770 --> 00:23:31.190
those were not lesions,
but bleeding through skin everywhere,

00:23:34.750 --> 00:23:37.330
the virus was everywhere.

00:23:38.070 --> 00:23:42.760
So if the Imam
bathed the body in that condition,

00:23:43.810 --> 00:23:48.920
it's strange
he didn’t get infected himself.

00:23:49.580 --> 00:23:55.410
I can only imagine that
he himself was a hajji

00:23:55.470 --> 00:23:57.720
who was recently vaccinated.

00:24:40.390 --> 00:24:46.940
On March 14th, in hospitals
in Gjakova and Prizren,

00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:55.160
there are eight patients
diagnosed with varicella.

00:25:00.320 --> 00:25:04.840
However, their clinical features
are deteriorating rapidly,

00:25:05.170 --> 00:25:09.240
so the local infectologist
Durmish Celina

00:25:09.290 --> 00:25:13.120
begins to suspect
that this is actually smallpox.

00:25:19.970 --> 00:25:23.850
He's alarming
the medical authorities,

00:25:24.660 --> 00:25:31.910
and the two most experienced infectologists
are sent immediately,

00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:34.870
Dr Kecmanović and Dr Šuvaković,

00:25:34.980 --> 00:25:38.180
while the team
from Torlak Institute arrives

00:25:38.250 --> 00:25:40.230
to gather blood samples.

00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:34.520
Smallpox.

00:27:45.170 --> 00:27:47.520
Comrade Dragašević,
for two days now,

00:27:47.560 --> 00:27:51.280
we are aware of smallpox
in Kosovo.

00:27:51.320 --> 00:27:53.360
What is the scope of this?

00:27:53.510 --> 00:27:54.480
Correct.

00:27:54.520 --> 00:28:00.300
For two days now we are certain
of the presence of smallpox in our country.

00:28:00.840 --> 00:28:05.040
The first signs of that disease
appeared a few days ago.

00:28:05.640 --> 00:28:08.490
We had eight cases,

00:28:08.530 --> 00:28:13.270
at first only suspected,
but now confirmed without a doubt,

00:28:13.310 --> 00:28:16.520
to be infected with this
very serious disease.

00:28:16.950 --> 00:28:21.900
In the meantime,
the number of patients went to fourteen.

00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:29.270
Luckily, the disease is localized
to a rather small area,

00:28:29.310 --> 00:28:33.000
at the junction of three municipalities
in Kosovo:

00:28:33.360 --> 00:28:35.400
Prizren, Gjakova and Orahovac.

00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:37.000
And is it spreading?

00:28:37.530 --> 00:28:39.800
It is not spreading
outside that location

00:28:39.840 --> 00:28:42.850
and that is the most positive
information we can share.

00:28:43.160 --> 00:28:45.070
Comrade professor,
you were the first to arrive.

00:28:45.120 --> 00:28:48.420
What were your first steps,
what was the situation like?

00:28:48.460 --> 00:28:52.420
I have to admit the situation
was rather confusing at first.

00:28:52.470 --> 00:28:55.820
When assistant professor Šuvaković and I
first arrived here,

00:28:55.980 --> 00:29:01.180
we were instantly sure
this could only be smallpox.

00:29:01.220 --> 00:29:05.340
Without any doubt,
we knew this was smallpox.

00:29:05.380 --> 00:29:10.540
During that first day
there was quite a confusion on the ward.

00:29:10.580 --> 00:29:13.440
Handymen fixing floors
were going in and out,

00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:16.780
plumbers were entering,
spectators were entering,

00:29:16.820 --> 00:29:18.500
a photographer was entering.

00:29:18.580 --> 00:29:23.960
Epidemiologically, the situation
was rather compromised.

00:29:24.270 --> 00:29:28.660
Dr Agim, how did become part
of the team fighting the epidemic?

00:29:28.740 --> 00:29:32.340
Well, nice.
- How did you join this team?

00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:34.060
I volunteered.

00:29:34.100 --> 00:29:37.420
Where do you work?
- Here in Gjakova.

00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:41.060
Why did you volunteer?
- I consider it my duty.

00:29:41.100 --> 00:29:44.100
Did your colleagues do the same?

00:29:44.230 --> 00:29:47.900
What do you think about
the general turn out of medical workers

00:29:48.010 --> 00:29:50.400
to volunteer to fight the epidemic?

00:29:50.660 --> 00:29:52.280
You better ask them.

00:29:52.690 --> 00:29:56.940
I admitted the first patient,
he has already died now,

00:29:57.540 --> 00:30:02.580
who at first was diagnosed
with measles,

00:30:02.620 --> 00:30:06.020
and then we admitted 3 more,
on the same day.

00:30:06.120 --> 00:30:10.940
I worked for four days non-stop
without any protective equipment,

00:30:11.020 --> 00:30:13.260
and without vaccine
of course,

00:30:13.300 --> 00:30:16.900
until the professors arrived
from Belgrade,

00:30:16.940 --> 00:30:19.300
and on the fourth day
we got vaccinated.

00:30:19.340 --> 00:30:20.880
After four days?
- Yes.

00:30:20.930 --> 00:30:22.420
What happened?

00:30:22.730 --> 00:30:27.900
I and another colleague
got a bit sick.

00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:31.440
As the professor said,
they waited for us to die as well.

00:30:31.880 --> 00:30:36.940
I worked on the team in the clinic
during the first few days.

00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:40.440
When the first patient died,
I was there.

00:30:40.590 --> 00:30:47.100
The municipal sanitary inspector realized
nobody wants to drive corpses.

00:30:48.220 --> 00:30:51.220
I saw the situation is serious
and said – OK I’ll drive.

00:30:51.950 --> 00:30:57.260
According to all the sources
you were the first to detect smallpox.

00:30:57.810 --> 00:31:05.340
On March 14th,
after lunch, after 1pm,

00:31:06.260 --> 00:31:11.580
after finishing our regular
daily work duties,

00:31:12.340 --> 00:31:19.620
I met Dr Xhelal Xhiba, infectologist,
in the hospital,

00:31:20.340 --> 00:31:24.860
who informed me about the patient
on the infectious ward,

00:31:24.940 --> 00:31:29.580
a little girl with a strange kind of rash.

00:31:30.820 --> 00:31:34.860
I immediately went
to the infectious ward

00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:40.060
and diagnosed that this child,
from Ratkovac village,

00:31:40.280 --> 00:31:48.280
whose name was Sadeta Salja,
is infected with smallpox.

00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:11.660
Variola virus (smallpox)
is one of the biggest viruses.

00:32:11.840 --> 00:32:18.890
Its dimensions are
200 x 250 millimicrons

00:32:19.790 --> 00:32:23.950
which makes variola
a giant among viruses.

00:32:27.350 --> 00:32:31.690
It's mostly transmitted
through direct contact.

00:32:31.730 --> 00:32:37.030
Through touching, kissing,
skin-against-skin, mucous,

00:32:37.590 --> 00:32:39.070
or by droplets.

00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:50.040
Droplet is like a little bomber -
each of them can contain

00:32:50.080 --> 00:32:54.620
a huge amount of virus
that causes infection.

00:32:58.810 --> 00:33:02.750
The disease is also transmitted
by aerosol.

00:33:03.230 --> 00:33:12.010
Tiny particles that contain
bits of cellular waste and the virus.

00:33:15.080 --> 00:33:18.720
Such particles can remain
in the air for hours,

00:33:18.850 --> 00:33:21.920
they can float
from one room to another,

00:33:21.970 --> 00:33:26.200
theoretically even travel
about 50 meters.

00:33:37.800 --> 00:33:42.480
The disease can also be
transmitted indirectly.

00:33:42.520 --> 00:33:46.680
By touching the objects
used by the patient.

00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:22.860
Warning. Smallpox in the house.
Any visit is very dangerous.

00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:40.330
From March 15th, we knew we had
smallpox epidemic in Yugoslavia,

00:35:42.170 --> 00:35:45.720
but only in Kosovo.

00:35:46.790 --> 00:35:48.390
However,

00:35:50.470 --> 00:35:52.480
the brother of the late Ljatif,

00:35:53.090 --> 00:35:56.810
Nedžib Mumdžić,
developed a rash.

00:35:58.060 --> 00:36:02.190
On March 19th,
he went to see the doctor.

00:36:06.670 --> 00:36:11.870
Luckily, a day before,
his doctor read in the newspapers

00:36:12.950 --> 00:36:18.670
about the smallpox epidemic in Kosovo,
and he started suspecting.

00:36:32.600 --> 00:36:37.540
Dr Stojanović issues a request
to examine Nedžib's case.

00:36:39.120 --> 00:36:43.280
She informs
the Republic sanitary inspection.

00:36:45.690 --> 00:36:50.170
If Nedžib's diagnose turns out
to be smallpox,

00:36:50.370 --> 00:36:57.410
then there's a question whether
Ljatif actually died of penicillin allergy.

00:37:00.280 --> 00:37:05.890
So the exhumation of Ljatif's body
was requested.

00:37:22.970 --> 00:37:28.480
On March 22nd
it was retroactively confirmed,

00:37:28.520 --> 00:37:32.910
that Ljatif has died of smallpox,
and that his brother Nedžib,

00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:34.960
is ill from the same disease.

00:37:46.210 --> 00:37:50.410
At the same time,
we find out that in Belgrade

00:37:50.450 --> 00:37:53.170
there are already
several positive cases.

00:38:15.060 --> 00:38:20.700
The epidemic of smallpox
has hit Belgrade.

00:39:48.060 --> 00:39:51.100
On March 22nd, my institute -

00:39:51.300 --> 00:39:54.760
Epidemiological Institute
of the Faculty of Medicine,

00:39:54.840 --> 00:39:56.810
was mobilized to help.

00:39:56.920 --> 00:40:04.090
At noon, we went to the
City Institute for Public Health.

00:40:06.580 --> 00:40:13.540
Almost simultaneously, at 01:08pm
the Dermatology clinic was put in quarantine,

00:40:13.630 --> 00:40:20.670
and at the same time,
the urgent ward of the First Surgical Clinic.

00:40:34.290 --> 00:40:39.660
We were officially briefed
about the smallpox in Belgrade on March 22nd,

00:40:40.050 --> 00:40:44.480
while this information was classified
until the 25th.

00:40:48.630 --> 00:40:54.110
It was crucial to collect the information
as fast as possible

00:40:54.360 --> 00:40:59.400
about all the individuals
who were in contact with Ljatif Mumdžić.

00:41:02.630 --> 00:41:09.300
We had to identify everyone
who was discharged from the clinics,

00:41:10.020 --> 00:41:13.670
who were either in intensive care
of the Surgical Clinic,

00:41:13.710 --> 00:41:17.570
or on the second floor
of the Dermatology clinic.

00:41:22.270 --> 00:41:28.630
And also to locate the medical staff
who were present in the clinics,

00:41:28.870 --> 00:41:33.230
including the cleaners,
service personal, everyone.

00:41:34.790 --> 00:41:37.530
They all had to be quarantined.

00:41:40.470 --> 00:41:45.460
They were well aware
this would not be for only a few hours,

00:41:45.640 --> 00:41:48.710
or even days,
but several weeks.

00:42:13.750 --> 00:42:17.540
It was late in the evening,
we were exhausted,

00:42:17.620 --> 00:42:21.460
and anxious about what might happen
during the night,

00:42:21.530 --> 00:42:23.990
while the phone was
ringing constantly.

00:42:24.590 --> 00:42:31.590
The question arose - who would accept
to stay on duty during the night?

00:42:31.770 --> 00:42:33.610
And I said:
I'll stay.

00:42:36.330 --> 00:42:41.120
I was vaccinated exactly
2 years and 8 months earlier,

00:42:41.240 --> 00:42:44.220
for my trip to India.

00:42:45.800 --> 00:42:51.430
The immunity lasts 3 years,
so I felt safe.

00:42:55.880 --> 00:43:02.200
The same day,
I received the booster dose of the vaccine.

00:43:03.760 --> 00:43:08.900
The others received it too,
but they had to wait to develop antibodies.

00:43:22.640 --> 00:43:28.000
During those weeks
I went home once,

00:43:30.030 --> 00:43:33.890
and didn’t go in,
but stayed in my car.

00:43:34.560 --> 00:43:40.580
My wife brought the children outside
so I could wave to them from afar.

00:43:48.120 --> 00:43:51.710
The next many days,
there was no rest.

00:45:05.330 --> 00:45:10.110
There were four hospital quarantines
and four outside the hospitals,

00:45:10.670 --> 00:45:14.990
so I was in charge
of those eight quarantines.

00:45:23.030 --> 00:45:27.220
One of the patients who was
discharged from the Dermatology Clinic

00:45:27.290 --> 00:45:29.090
developed a smallpox rash.

00:45:29.490 --> 00:45:32.170
My colleague, who was supposed to go,
was afraid

00:45:32.250 --> 00:45:35.480
because we usually investigated
only the contacts,

00:45:35.520 --> 00:45:39.500
and now we have the actual patient
whose rash already broke out,

00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:43.290
so he was reluctant,
and I went instead.

00:45:44.570 --> 00:45:49.330
I asked the patient -
can you recount all the contacts you had

00:45:49.370 --> 00:45:54.190
since yesterday afternoon
when you left the hospital.

00:45:58.330 --> 00:46:01.480
He starts listing the names,
I'm writing down,

00:46:01.550 --> 00:46:03.820
one sheet of paper,
then another sheet, and another -

00:46:04.100 --> 00:46:05.810
32 contacts.

00:46:05.980 --> 00:46:09.730
32 people came to visit him,

00:46:10.430 --> 00:46:14.540
had a coffee
and wished him fast recovery.

00:46:18.010 --> 00:46:21.500
All of them
had to be quarantined.

00:46:28.570 --> 00:46:30.800
I gave the instructions

00:46:31.200 --> 00:46:36.740
for those 32 people to be transported
to quarantine at Motel "Nacional"

00:46:36.860 --> 00:46:42.220
and the patient to be sent to isolatorium
for the infected.

00:46:50.640 --> 00:46:52.140
It was a long day,

00:46:52.180 --> 00:46:56.420
and around midnight
I came back to "Nacional",

00:46:56.460 --> 00:47:00.130
and the nurse at the entrance
tells me -

00:47:00.640 --> 00:47:04.360
everything is fine,
we admitted 33 people.

00:47:05.310 --> 00:47:07.940
You mean 32?
- No, no - 33.

00:47:08.010 --> 00:47:09.820
Let's see the list.

00:47:13.660 --> 00:47:16.810
The infected patient was also there,
by mistake.

00:47:16.890 --> 00:47:21.770
He was transported to quarantine,
instead of isolatorium.

00:47:21.810 --> 00:47:24.280
We took the action immediately,

00:47:24.470 --> 00:47:27.750
and he was taken to the right facility.

00:49:55.160 --> 00:50:00.190
Very contagious. Smallpox.
Access strictly forbidden.

00:50:04.390 --> 00:50:15.120
By the evening of March 24th,
we identified 86 people sick with smallpox.

00:50:20.670 --> 00:50:27.620
By then, some of the Belgrade patients
are in a terrible condition.

00:50:31.610 --> 00:50:33.200
They start to die.

00:50:45.760 --> 00:50:49.750
On March 25th,
when the general public was informed

00:50:49.820 --> 00:50:53.740
more than 3000 people
rushed to hospitals.

00:50:56.150 --> 00:51:02.520
As it turns out - all of them were
connected to Ljatif Mumdžić,

00:51:02.750 --> 00:51:08.510
while he was in Belgrade
on March 9th and 10th.

00:51:12.790 --> 00:51:20.580
The information kept arriving -
smallpox in Trnjane village near Požarevac,

00:51:20.620 --> 00:51:23.000
Bresnica near Čačak,

00:51:23.550 --> 00:51:28.570
Morović near Šid,
Međulužje near Mladenovac,

00:51:29.230 --> 00:51:32.920
Stojnik near Sopot,
Plav in Montenegro,

00:51:33.180 --> 00:51:36.870
then we get the information about a case
in Maribor in Slovenia -

00:51:42.080 --> 00:51:45.470
It started popping up
like mushrooms.

00:51:45.970 --> 00:51:49.900
With no way to tell where
the next one will happen.

00:52:00.470 --> 00:52:03.390
The whole Yugoslavia
is in turmoil,

00:52:03.850 --> 00:52:08.930
so we had to take
radical measures.

00:52:23.510 --> 00:52:27.970
Prevention measures are taken
in all twelve student dorms in Belgrade.

00:52:28.050 --> 00:52:32.390
From today visits are forbidden,
the only way in is with a student pass.

00:52:32.460 --> 00:52:34.740
All dances and other gatherings
are canceled.

00:52:34.790 --> 00:52:38.270
Student canteens are distributing
pre-packaged food for lunch and dinner.

00:52:38.560 --> 00:52:43.390
At the University Health Center,
a large group of students came

00:52:43.450 --> 00:52:46.450
to check if they can get vaccinated.

00:52:47.160 --> 00:52:49.290
Comrade Miladinović,
sorry to interrupt.

00:52:49.330 --> 00:52:52.170
What measures are taken
for the safety of the students?

00:52:52.810 --> 00:52:57.180
Vaccination is being done
in all Universities and student dorms,

00:52:57.220 --> 00:53:00.050
it's being handled with great success.

00:53:00.160 --> 00:53:03.380
More than 85% of the students
are already covered.

00:53:04.130 --> 00:53:08.140
In Beko, the largest factory
in our textile industry,

00:53:08.190 --> 00:53:11.570
vaccination against smallpox
is organized in five locations.

00:53:11.810 --> 00:53:14.650
12 medical teams
are working on it.

00:53:14.800 --> 00:53:19.170
Out of 4000 workers, more than 2000
is already vaccinated.

00:53:19.290 --> 00:53:20.890
Doctor, do you have
enough of the serum?

00:53:20.930 --> 00:53:23.810
We have enough serum
for all our workers.

00:53:24.170 --> 00:53:27.010
Did I reach the school polyclinic?
- Yes.

00:53:27.080 --> 00:53:29.270
Seems like quite a commotion
over there.

00:53:29.310 --> 00:53:32.810
It's a terrible crowd,
so many people outside.

00:53:33.420 --> 00:53:36.490
Look, if you really need the information,
listen to me carefully.

00:53:36.530 --> 00:53:38.360
Here, we are supposed to
vaccinate the children

00:53:38.400 --> 00:53:41.170
who need to take the vaccine
with gamma globulin.

00:53:41.680 --> 00:53:45.720
There’s a terrible crowd,
I can hardly hear you.

00:53:45.760 --> 00:53:48.280
Not sure if you can hear me.
If you can, then great.

00:53:48.520 --> 00:53:54.700
I hear you well. Do you have
enough vaccines and gamma globulin?

00:53:54.750 --> 00:53:57.580
Yes, they already
started to work.

00:53:57.880 --> 00:53:59.520
When did they start?

00:53:59.650 --> 00:54:04.060
Some 15 to 20 minutes ago,
not before.

00:54:04.100 --> 00:54:08.140
But this is horrible.
There's five to six thousand people here.

00:54:09.040 --> 00:54:14.580
We are vaccinating only the children
without a previous scar,

00:54:14.620 --> 00:54:18.640
those not vaccinated before school.
They must get gamma globulin.

00:54:18.680 --> 00:54:22.650
While the rest of schoolchildren
are revaccinated in schools.

00:54:23.230 --> 00:54:27.370
I hope you understood what I said.
Now I have to go.

00:54:27.410 --> 00:54:29.890
Could you just tell us your name, please?
- Bye.

00:54:29.970 --> 00:54:30.860
Hello?
- Yes?

00:54:30.900 --> 00:54:32.580
Your name, please?

00:54:33.280 --> 00:54:34.570
I'm a nurse Milica.

00:54:34.610 --> 00:54:36.960
Many thanks, nurse Milica.

00:54:37.230 --> 00:54:39.780
What worries you the most
at this moment?

00:54:42.890 --> 00:54:49.050
We will carry out the vaccination
according to the specific plan,

00:54:49.400 --> 00:54:51.090
in a very wide area.

00:54:51.240 --> 00:54:54.810
We have locations divided
in first, second, third priority group, etc.

00:54:54.880 --> 00:54:56.850
In the next 10 days,

00:54:57.160 --> 00:55:00.610
several million people in the Republic
will be vaccinated

00:55:00.670 --> 00:55:02.930
That is the most
important measure.

00:55:02.980 --> 00:55:04.510
What worries us the most,

00:55:04.550 --> 00:55:10.980
we can't be sure about
all the possible contacts of the first patients,

00:55:11.020 --> 00:55:13.890
the ones who were not
timely diagnosed.

00:55:13.960 --> 00:55:18.850
The movements of these people
are very hard to establish.

00:55:18.930 --> 00:55:22.050
That is now
the major focus of our attention.

00:55:22.150 --> 00:55:25.720
Once we solve that,
things will get much easier.

00:55:55.210 --> 00:56:00.010
Of course,
we didn't have enough vaccines in Yugoslavia,

00:56:01.010 --> 00:56:04.850
but since the smallpox eradication program
was still underway,

00:56:04.890 --> 00:56:13.340
the World Health Organization was eager to
provide us with as many vaccines as possible,

00:56:13.380 --> 00:56:16.170
but their stocks
were not endless either.

00:56:16.230 --> 00:56:19.490
Therefore, many other countries
came through,

00:56:19.530 --> 00:56:22.330
by sending us their reserves.

00:56:36.800 --> 00:56:39.090
The colleagues from the Torlak Institute

00:56:39.170 --> 00:56:42.500
were waiting day and night
at the Belgrade airport,

00:56:42.740 --> 00:56:47.450
receiving vaccines and
other medical supplies,

00:56:47.750 --> 00:56:51.830
taking it to the cold storage
in Torlak institute,

00:56:52.010 --> 00:56:55.810
and then distributing it
throughout the country.

00:57:19.660 --> 00:57:24.340
Obligatory vaccination. Bring security
to your family and the whole community.

00:57:52.640 --> 00:57:58.200
The classical vaccination method
was to scratch the skin

00:57:58.240 --> 00:58:02.450
with a sharp medical instrument
called "lancet".

00:58:03.120 --> 00:58:11.440
1 to 2cm scratch is made on the skin,
then another scratch a bit bellow,

00:58:11.770 --> 00:58:15.910
and then "Maya" is applied
over the scratches.

00:58:19.020 --> 00:58:24.500
The sleeve has to be rolled up
for at least 15 minutes,

00:58:24.740 --> 00:58:30.770
so "Maya" could react
and start the infection.

00:58:48.750 --> 00:58:52.270
The smallpox vaccine is
a "live vaccine",

00:58:52.390 --> 00:58:57.830
which means there are conditions
when it shouldn't be given.

00:59:01.080 --> 00:59:08.170
However, in situations like the one
in April and May of 1972, in Kosovo,

00:59:09.580 --> 00:59:15.830
when the risk of the disease
that kills every 5th person is so high,

00:59:17.860 --> 00:59:24.740
the absolute standpoint of
our experts and the WHO

00:59:24.790 --> 00:59:30.710
was that everyone,
regardless of their health status,

00:59:31.360 --> 00:59:35.870
should be vaccinated.
It was mandatory for everybody.

00:59:41.320 --> 00:59:43.990
It is a well known fact

00:59:44.130 --> 00:59:48.060
that the live vaccines
are not given to pregnant women.

00:59:50.740 --> 00:59:56.830
But the consensus was that the risk
for the pregnant women and the fetus

00:59:57.300 --> 01:00:00.010
is much higher
if they are not vaccinated.

01:00:00.230 --> 01:00:05.410
The experience during the epidemic
has proved it,

01:00:06.240 --> 01:00:11.160
because we have lost
8 out of 12 infected babies.

01:00:11.210 --> 01:00:13.120
That is 67 percent.

01:00:13.170 --> 01:00:18.250
The two thirds of the babies
who got the disease, didn’t survive.

01:01:02.770 --> 01:01:08.650
Could you tell us something about
the type of smallpox in Kosovo?

01:01:52.200 --> 01:01:57.240
The USA medical team was sent to us
with a big shipment of the vaccines

01:01:57.280 --> 01:02:01.870
as a helping hand of the US government
in the fight against smallpox.

01:02:02.250 --> 01:02:06.340
Today they have demonstrated
the vaccination method

01:02:06.380 --> 01:02:09.570
of using the jet-injectors.

01:02:09.770 --> 01:02:11.780
Using this modern technology

01:02:11.820 --> 01:02:15.780
allows us to vaccinate
around 1000 people in one hour.

01:02:16.600 --> 01:02:20.030
Revaccination in Belgrade is done
by jet-injectors.

01:02:20.460 --> 01:02:24.590
The turn-out is excellent,
if not even too enthusiastic.

01:02:24.640 --> 01:02:28.300
Anyway, here is what
a specialist pediatrician,

01:02:28.340 --> 01:02:30.700
prim. Dr Milka Golubović
says about it.

01:02:30.820 --> 01:02:33.700
Our biggest difficulty
is with school children.

01:02:33.740 --> 01:02:40.820
A lot of those who came back
already have a positive reaction to the vaccine

01:02:40.860 --> 01:02:43.640
meaning the vaccination was
already successful.

01:02:43.690 --> 01:02:48.440
But since their immune response was not
as dramatic as with adults,

01:02:48.480 --> 01:02:52.940
some parents are sending us
their children to be vaccinated again.

01:02:52.980 --> 01:02:57.270
They can't understand
their children are still somewhat immune

01:02:57.310 --> 01:03:01.880
from the obligatory vaccination
received in the 1st grade of elementary school

01:03:01.920 --> 01:03:07.340
so their reaction can't be as dramatic
as with the adults.

01:03:07.990 --> 01:03:11.330
Control check on Monday.
See the doctor on Monday.

01:03:18.660 --> 01:03:22.550
Doctor, how many citizens of Belgrade
are vaccinated so far?

01:03:22.710 --> 01:03:26.060
According to the Crisis Committee estimate,
as the report is not yet available,

01:03:26.100 --> 01:03:29.380
around 950.000 citizens of Belgrade
have been vaccinated.

01:03:29.780 --> 01:03:32.140
Who should come
to the control checks-up?

01:03:32.570 --> 01:03:35.100
People whose vaccination
was not successful

01:03:35.140 --> 01:03:38.220
will be vaccinated again,
because they are not protected.

01:03:38.300 --> 01:03:40.380
We are warning everyone,
asking them

01:03:40.420 --> 01:03:43.380
to come to vaccination points
within health centers

01:03:43.420 --> 01:03:45.780
that will remain open.

01:06:38.730 --> 01:06:46.100
The first smallpox survivor is discharged
from Gjakova hospital.

01:06:46.200 --> 01:06:49.740
His name is Ismail Hadžimorina
from Dejne village,

01:06:49.800 --> 01:06:51.980
the epicenter of smallpox.

01:06:52.370 --> 01:06:57.700
Asst prof Dr Vojislav Šuvaković
and prof Dr Miomir Kecmanović

01:06:57.740 --> 01:07:01.700
have won the first battle
against the vicious smallpox.

01:07:01.780 --> 01:07:04.660
The brave tropical disease experts,

01:07:04.700 --> 01:07:08.700
who fought for the lives of their patients
for the past 22 days,

01:07:08.740 --> 01:07:13.540
are joined by two young doctors
and several medical nurses.

01:07:13.980 --> 01:07:18.340
Assistant professor Šuvaković
and professor Kecmanović have stated

01:07:18.410 --> 01:07:21.390
that the epidemic in Kosovo and Metohia
is contained

01:07:21.440 --> 01:07:26.620
and they expect a complete victory
over the menace this region have faced.

01:07:27.010 --> 01:07:32.180
I want to thank the doctor from Belgrade,

01:07:32.430 --> 01:07:37.380
the comrade professor,
who treated us like his own children.

01:07:38.310 --> 01:07:41.180
God bless him for that,
and all other leadership

01:07:41.220 --> 01:07:43.020
including Marshal (Tito).

01:07:43.430 --> 01:07:44.570
How are the others doing?

01:07:44.610 --> 01:07:50.000
The ones who were in a fix, they're gone.
The lucky ones survived.

01:07:50.180 --> 01:07:55.020
You were among the first ones
who came from Croatia. How come?

01:07:57.040 --> 01:08:04.200
We were informed there's a need
to send someone over here.

01:08:05.420 --> 01:08:13.660
This was put on hold
as it seemed there won't be a lot of cases

01:08:13.820 --> 01:08:18.830
but then the call
was sent again,

01:08:19.240 --> 01:08:21.880
and we knew
our help was needed.

01:08:22.090 --> 01:08:29.860
Our goal was to send more experienced help,
so I came as a senior doctor.

01:08:30.460 --> 01:08:35.120
I was pleasantly surprised
how welcoming everyone was,

01:08:35.160 --> 01:08:37.580
the region is beautiful
and working here is pleasant,

01:08:37.620 --> 01:08:40.100
although it is a bit dangerous.

01:08:40.380 --> 01:08:41.900
Would you please
present yourself?

01:08:41.940 --> 01:08:46.060
Dr Senker Karol,
of Ljubljana Health Institute.

01:08:46.860 --> 01:08:50.710
Did you have any previous
experience with smallpox?

01:08:50.760 --> 01:08:52.460
Yes, in Ghana.

01:08:53.380 --> 01:08:58.500
In 1963, and later,
during the smaller outbreaks.

01:08:58.580 --> 01:09:05.740
Were the cases in Ghana more serious
from these in Kosovo, or not?

01:09:06.080 --> 01:09:08.190
I would say - the same.

01:09:08.250 --> 01:09:13.380
In one outbreak we had five cases
and one child has died.

01:09:14.110 --> 01:09:16.600
Roughly the same
percentage as here.

01:09:21.950 --> 01:09:26.380
We are in front of the house
of hajji Ibrahim Hoti,

01:09:26.440 --> 01:09:32.200
who is suspected to be
the source of smallpox infection.

01:09:32.710 --> 01:09:35.540
We have with us
doctor Durmish Celina,

01:09:35.580 --> 01:09:41.400
who was present in this village
since the smallpox outbreak,

01:09:41.440 --> 01:09:45.290
and he will remain here
to search for new cases.

01:09:45.760 --> 01:09:48.650
Let’s see what’s new
for yesterday and today?

01:09:50.790 --> 01:09:53.570
We had no new cases
yesterday and today.

01:09:53.980 --> 01:09:59.060
The village Dejne had the first cases
of smallpox at the end of February.

01:09:59.620 --> 01:10:03.550
So far, we had 35 infected,
four have died.

01:10:04.430 --> 01:10:10.770
The others from Dejne are hospitalized
and are doing much better.

01:10:10.810 --> 01:10:15.640
We're hoping
we won’t have any more deaths.

01:10:34.780 --> 01:10:37.200
If we were to summaries

01:10:38.480 --> 01:10:41.750
the chronology of the epidemic
in Yugoslavia -

01:10:43.310 --> 01:10:49.870
before the hajj,
Ibrahim Hoti went to Orahovac

01:10:49.930 --> 01:10:51.760
to get vaccinated.

01:10:52.240 --> 01:10:55.600
He received the vaccine,

01:10:56.220 --> 01:11:01.380
but we have several versions
of what happened next.

01:11:04.130 --> 01:11:08.250
It is possible the vaccination
was unsuccessful,

01:11:08.300 --> 01:11:15.620
but there are alleged witnesses who stated
that he was advised by someone:

01:11:15.660 --> 01:11:18.010
"Listen, this thing can cause complications,

01:11:18.910 --> 01:11:23.450
you better go and buy some ethanol
in the pharmacy,

01:11:23.850 --> 01:11:28.940
then take a piece of cotton
and as soon as you get the vaccine,

01:11:28.980 --> 01:11:33.620
scrub-off the vaccination spot
to avoid any side-effects."

01:11:37.050 --> 01:11:43.140
Ibrahim Hoti gets infected
on February 6th, in Baghdad.

01:11:44.630 --> 01:11:51.670
He spreads it to 11 people.
That was the first wave of epidemic.

01:11:59.330 --> 01:12:05.250
There’s a question of why Iraq
kept silent about the smallpox epidemic?

01:12:05.860 --> 01:12:11.520
Many countries did the same,
because when you report this disease

01:12:11.560 --> 01:12:17.680
the borders get closed,
with a direct economic loss.

01:12:21.710 --> 01:12:30.130
When in mid-March we informed the WHO
about our epidemic,

01:12:30.600 --> 01:12:34.580
and when it became clear
it was imported from Iraq,

01:12:34.620 --> 01:12:38.540
only then Iraq officially informed
Geneva about it.

01:12:50.250 --> 01:12:54.550
The 2nd wave started on March 15th,

01:12:54.680 --> 01:13:01.180
and on that day we became aware
of the smallpox in Kosovo, in Yugoslavia.

01:13:03.640 --> 01:13:08.160
During the 2nd wave,
140 people got infected.

01:13:14.710 --> 01:13:18.500
The index case of Belgrade epidemic,
Ljatif Mumdžić

01:13:19.000 --> 01:13:21.640
spread the disease
to 38 people.

01:13:21.910 --> 01:13:23.970
That's probably
the world record.

01:13:24.010 --> 01:13:27.300
I've never encountered in literature
that any person

01:13:27.490 --> 01:13:31.500
has spread the variola virus (smallpox)
to more people.

01:13:38.460 --> 01:13:45.320
In the 3rd wave,
140 people infected only 27,

01:13:47.180 --> 01:13:51.080
who then transmitted it
to only 5.

01:13:52.160 --> 01:13:55.190
That was a great
and unexpected success.

01:14:05.280 --> 01:14:11.200
We had a total of 175 cases
in Yugoslavia,

01:14:11.240 --> 01:14:17.510
and the 176th traveled to Hanover,
and got sick there.

01:14:27.030 --> 01:14:33.420
Luckily, we provided the information
to German medical officials,

01:14:33.740 --> 01:14:37.640
and he was immediately
diagnosed and isolated.

01:14:37.740 --> 01:14:44.410
So the Yugoslav epidemic
did not spread to Germany.

01:16:56.810 --> 01:17:01.570
The speed in which
the vaccination was completed,

01:17:02.690 --> 01:17:09.820
was possible only because
the health services were well organized.

01:17:15.180 --> 01:17:22.690
In a record time, 18 million people
got vaccinated in Yugoslavia.

01:17:37.990 --> 01:17:43.430
This was the end
of smallpox epidemics in Europe.

01:18:43.770 --> 01:18:50.530
In the history of civilization,
more people have died of infectious diseases,

01:18:50.600 --> 01:18:54.820
than of hunger, sward
and all other evils.

01:18:56.920 --> 01:19:03.470
And among these diseases
smallpox holds the first place.

01:19:05.190 --> 01:19:10.520
In the 20th century alone,
it took half a billion lives.

01:19:22.260 --> 01:19:29.810
The chain of infections
came to an end in 1977,

01:19:33.380 --> 01:19:41.350
when in Somalia,
a 23 year old cook Ali Malick, fell ill.

01:20:00.720 --> 01:20:08.350
Variola virus would be kept
in four laboratories, that was the agreement.

01:20:08.600 --> 01:20:12.430
One of them was
in Birmingham, in the UK.

01:20:13.110 --> 01:20:19.010
And it happened that
on August 11th 1978,

01:20:19.370 --> 01:20:23.380
Janet Parker, photographer,
got infected with smallpox.

01:20:24.650 --> 01:20:29.710
She worked on the floor above
the virology laboratory.

01:20:33.460 --> 01:20:37.310
No one is sure
how the virus got to her.

01:20:37.520 --> 01:20:43.390
They assumed it was
through the AC system.

01:20:49.680 --> 01:20:51.970
She got infected and she died.

01:20:52.870 --> 01:20:56.020
Her mother got infected
and survived.

01:20:57.320 --> 01:21:01.490
Her father was quarantined,
didn't get smallpox,

01:21:01.600 --> 01:21:04.040
but died of a heart attack.

01:21:09.710 --> 01:21:12.150
Burdened by the guilt,

01:21:12.540 --> 01:21:19.840
the virology professor
in charge of the safety in the laboratory,

01:21:20.500 --> 01:21:24.810
while in quarantine,
he committed suicide.

01:21:25.510 --> 01:21:31.070
In an unusually cruel way -
by slitting his throat.

01:21:46.650 --> 01:21:51.850
After the Birmingham incident,
it was decided

01:21:52.540 --> 01:21:57.040
the smallpox virus would be stored
in only two places in the world.

01:21:57.980 --> 01:22:04.840
In the CDC laboratory
in Atlanta, Georgia,

01:22:05.210 --> 01:22:13.610
and in the State Research Center
of Virology and Biotechnology

01:22:13.900 --> 01:22:17.920
in Koltzov, in Siberia,
next to Novosibirsk.

01:22:32.890 --> 01:22:37.060
The World Health Organization
was trying to determine

01:22:37.460 --> 01:22:43.290
weather smallpox remains present
in an unrecognized form.

01:22:44.630 --> 01:22:47.600
The award of 1000 USD was promised

01:22:47.920 --> 01:22:51.520
to anyone who would report
a case of smallpox.

01:22:57.680 --> 01:23:00.730
No one reported
any new cases.

01:23:01.530 --> 01:23:10.730
And on May 8th 1980,
smallpox was declared eradicated.

01:23:20.530 --> 01:23:26.160
Smallpox is the first and the only disease,
in the history of civilization,

01:23:26.390 --> 01:23:33.720
that ceased to exist as a result of
the coordinated effort of the human society.

01:23:48.180 --> 01:23:52.170
When the Yugoslav epidemic
has ended,

01:23:52.480 --> 01:23:55.730
the head of the worldwide
smallpox eradication program,

01:23:56.140 --> 01:23:58.580
Dr Donald Henderson wrote:

01:24:01.390 --> 01:24:04.490
In no other case
of smallpox epidemic,

01:24:04.530 --> 01:24:08.150
have I encountered such
an outstanding collaboration,

01:24:08.540 --> 01:24:12.560
and such a team effort
between different institutions.

01:24:13.890 --> 01:24:18.710
I intend to use your way
of managing the smallpox epidemic

01:24:18.990 --> 01:24:24.290
as an example of what could be done
to eradicate this disease.

01:26:19.880 --> 01:26:24.090
Another spring