1972 Outbreak of Smallpox in Yugoslavia - Timeline

Timeline

  • February 15, 1972 - Ibrahim Hoti, a clergyman, returns from pilgrimage to Mecca infected with the smallpox virus.
  • February 16 - Hoti feels unwell.
  • February 21 - Latif Musa, a thirty-year old school teacher, arrives in Đakovica to continue his studies.
  • March 3 - Musa falls ill with a highly contagious form of smallpox.
  • Between March 3 and March 9 Musa is misdiagnosed and moved to hospitals in Čačak and then Belgrade. During this time, he directly infects 38 people.
  • March 9 - Musa is shown to medical students in the Belgrade hospital as a case of reaction to penicillin.
  • March 10 - Musa develops massive internal bleeding and dies.
  • March 22 - Doctors correctly diagnose the cause of Musa's death and government begins measures to contain the epidemic.
  • Early April - Mass revaccination begins. Donald Henderson arrives.
  • Late May - The epidemic is over. 175 people were infected; 35 died.

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