1972 outbreak of smallpox in Yugoslavia
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The 1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak was the largest outbreak of
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was centered in
SAP Kosovo The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / ", sq, Krahina Socialiste Autonome e Kosovë ...
and
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, a province of and the capital city respectively of
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. A
Kosovar Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...
Muslim pilgrim had contracted the
smallpox virus Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) cer ...
in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. Upon returning to his home in Kosovo, he started the epidemic in which 175 people were infected, killing 35. The epidemic was efficiently contained by enforced
quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
and mass
vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
. The 1982 film ''
Variola Vera ''Variola Vera'' ( Cyrillic: Вариола вера) is a 1982 Yugoslav film directed by Goran Marković. The subject of the film is based on the 1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak. It is a satire of the corruption of the medical and public health ...
'' is based on the event.


Background

By 1972 the disease was considered to be eradicated in Europe. The population of Yugoslavia had been regularly vaccinated for 50 years, and the last case was reported in 1930. This was the major cause of the initial slow reaction by doctors, who did not promptly recognize the disease. In October 1970, an Afghan family went on pilgrimage from
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, where smallpox was endemic, to
Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, triggering an epidemic of smallpox in Iran that would last until September 1972. By late 1971, smallpox-infected pilgrims had carried smallpox from Iran into
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
.


Outbreak

In early 1972, a 38-year-old Kosovo Albanian Muslim clergyman named Ibrahim Hoti, from Damnjane near
Đakovica Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...
, Kosovo, undertook the
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
. He visited holy sites in Iraq, where cases of smallpox were known. He returned home on February 15. The following morning he suffered aches and was tired. After feeling feverish for a couple of days and developing a rash, he recovered, likely because he had been vaccinated two months earlier. On March 3, Latif Mumdžić, a thirty-year-old teacher, who had just arrived in Đakovica to attend school, fell ill. He had no known direct contact with Hoti. He may have been infected by one of the clergyman's friends or relatives who visited during his illness, or simply by passing the clergyman in the street. When Mumdžić visited the local medical center two days later, doctors attempted to treat his fever with
penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...
(smallpox is a virus, so this was ineffective). His condition did not improve, and after a couple of days, his brother took him to the hospital in
Čačak Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley within the geographical region of Šumadija. , the city proper has 73,331 inhabitants, wh ...
, 150 km to the north in Serbia. The doctors there could not help him, so he was transferred by ambulance to the central hospital in Belgrade. On March 9, Mumdžić was shown to medical students and staff as a case of an atypical reaction to penicillin, which was a plausible explanation for his condition. On the following day, Mumdžić suffered massive internal bleeding and, despite efforts to save his life, died that evening. The cause of death was listed as "reaction to
penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...
". In fact, he had contracted ''
black pox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The Ali Maow Maalin#Maalin's case, last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World ...
'', a highly contagious form of smallpox. Before his death, Mumdžić directly infected 38 people (including nine doctors and nurses), eight of whom died. A few days after Mumdžić's death, 140 smallpox cases erupted across Kosovo province.


Reaction

The government's reaction was swift.
Martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
was declared on March 16. Measures included '' cordons sanitaires'' of villages and neighborhoods, roadblocks, a prohibition of public assembly, closure of borders and prohibition of all non-essential travel. Hotels were requisitioned for quarantines in which 10,000 people who may have been in contact with the virus were held under guard by the
Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
. Mumdžić's brother developed a smallpox rash on March 20, resulting in medical authorities realizing that Mumdžić had died of smallpox. The authorities undertook massive revaccination of the population, helped by the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO), "almost the entire Yugoslavian population of 18 million people was vaccinated". Leading experts on smallpox were flown in to help, including
Donald Henderson Donald Ainslie Henderson (September 7, 1928 – August 19, 2016) was an American medical doctor, educator, and epidemiologist who directed a 10-year international effort (1967–1977) that eradicated smallpox throughout the world and launche ...
and
Don Francis Donald Pinkston Francis (born October 24, 1942) is an American epidemiologist who worked on the Ebola outbreak in Africa in the late 1970s, and as an HIV/AIDS researcher. He retired from the U.S. Public Health Service in 1992, after 21 years of se ...
. By mid-May, the outbreak was contained and the country returned to normal life. During the epidemic, 175 people contracted smallpox and 35 died.


Legacy

The Yugoslav government received international praise for the successful containment of the epidemic, which was one of the finest hours for
Donald Henderson Donald Ainslie Henderson (September 7, 1928 – August 19, 2016) was an American medical doctor, educator, and epidemiologist who directed a 10-year international effort (1967–1977) that eradicated smallpox throughout the world and launche ...
and WHO, as well as one of the crucial steps in the eradication of smallpox. In 1982, Serbian director
Goran Marković Goran Marković ( sr-cyr, Горан Марковић, ) (born 24 August 1946) is a Serbian film and theatre director, screenwriter, writer, and playwright. He has directed approximately 50 documentaries, 13 feature films, and 3 theatre plays. ...
made the film ''
Variola Vera ''Variola Vera'' ( Cyrillic: Вариола вера) is a 1982 Yugoslav film directed by Goran Marković. The subject of the film is based on the 1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak. It is a satire of the corruption of the medical and public health ...
'' about a hospital under quarantine during the epidemic.


References


Sources

* Flight, Colette (2002)
Smallpox: Eradicating the Scourge
hosted b
BBC History
Verified availability 2005-03-12. * Zwerdling, Daniel (October 23, 2001)


American Radio Works
'. Verified availability 2005-03-12.


External links


Variola vera
Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
entry for a film based on the 1972 smallpox outbreak in Yugoslavia. Verified availability 2005-03-12.
Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon
hosted b
Drama
Drama-documentary Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typi ...
about a hypothetical
bioterrorism Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in much the same ...
attack involving smallpox. Verified availability 2005-03-12. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1972 Yugoslav Smallpox Outbreak 1972 in Kosovo Smallpox epidemics Smallpox eradication Smallpox, 1972 outbreak 1972 disease outbreaks Disease outbreaks in Kosovo