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Witness History

The Last Smallpox Outbreak

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 February 2018

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tens of thousands of people died in India in 1974 during the world's last major smallpox epidemic. Individual cases had to be tracked down and quarantined to stop the deadly disease spreading. Ashley Byrne has spoken to Dr Mahendra Dutta and Dr Larry Brilliant who took part in the battle to eradicate smallpox once and for all.

Photo: Smallpox lesions on the human body. 1973. Credit: Getty Images.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

0:04.7

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

0:08.5

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.

0:18.0

What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,

0:24.6

poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.

0:29.7

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC

0:35.4

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0:39.4

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0:41.1

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0:50.3

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Off the telly with me Joanna Paige and me, Natalie Cassidy,

0:59.0

so your evenings can be a little less searching

1:02.0

and a lot more watching listen on BBC

1:04.7

sounds hello you're listening to the witness podcast history as told by the

1:09.1

people who were there I'm Ashley Byrne and today I'm taking you back to 1974 and an epidemic in India which

1:16.0

killed, disfigured or blinded tens of thousands of people.

1:20.3

I've been speaking to two doctors who remember the world's last major outbreak of smallpox.

1:26.8

In the shallows of the Holy Ganges River, pilgrims purify themselves before offering thanks to the gods.

1:33.6

And here in the ancient city of Benaras,

1:36.0

many pilgrims come solely to worship in the temple of Sietla,

...

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