35 min listen
S2E8 / The Scars of Smallpox
ratings:
Length:
16 minutes
Released:
Nov 7, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
In 1975, smallpox eradication workers in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, rushed to a village in the south of the country called Kuralia. They were abuzz and the journey was urgent because they thought they just might be going to document the very last case of variola major, a deadly strain of the virus. When they arrived, they met a toddler, Rahima Banu.She did have smallpox, and five years later, in 1980, when the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated, Banu became a symbol of one of the greatest accomplishments in public health.That’s the lasting public legacy of Rahima Banu, the girl.Episode 8, the series finale of “Eradicating Smallpox,” is the story of Rahima Banu, the woman — and her life after smallpox.To meet with her, podcast host Céline Gounder traveled to Digholdi, Bangladesh, where Banu, her husband, their three daughters, and a son share a one-room bamboo-and-corrugated-metal home with a mud floor. Their finances are precarious. The family cannot afford good health care or to send their daughter to college.The public has largely forgotten Banu, while in her personal life, she faced prejudice from the local community because she had smallpox. Those negative attitudes followed her for decades after the virus was eradicated. “I feel ashamed of my scars. People also felt disgusted,” Banu said, crying as she spoke through an interpreter. Despite the hardship she’s faced, she is proud of her role in history, and that her children never had to live with the virus. “It did not happen to anyone, and it will not happen,” she said.Voices From the Episode:Rahima BanuThe last person in the world to have a naturally occurring case of the deadliest strain of smallpoxNazma BegumRahima Banu’s daughterRafiqul IslamRahima Banu’s husbandAlan SchnurFormer World Health Organization smallpox eradication program worker in BangladeshFind a transcript of this episode here.“Epidemic” is a co-production of KFF Health News and Just Human Productions.To hear other KFF Health News podcasts, click here.Subscribe to "Epidemic” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Released:
Nov 7, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (95)
S1E4 / Our Health System’s in Trouble / Andy Salvitt & Dan Diamond: “I think as we get testing capability out, and we get the ability to treat the population, we can't forget that there's many people that don't have the choice to self-isolate. They have to go to work every day because they get paid by the hour, and we have to do our best to keep them healthy.” - Andy Slavitt In today’s episode, co-hosts Dr. Celine Gounder and Ron Klain speak with Dan Diamond, a health journalist for Politico in Washington. They discuss what the coronavirus relief bill currently passing through Congress includes. They also discuss how conflict within the White House administration may be complicating the pandemic response in the United States. The co-hosts are also joined on this episode by Andy Slavitt, head of Medicare and Medicaid during the Obama administration. Andy speaks about how COVID-19 testing will be paid for in the United States, as well as how those without insurance or those who are undo by EPIDEMIC with Dr. Celine Gounder