Pskov is the only area in Russia to have declared a State of Emergency across its entire region. Since the epidemic began last September, over 800 people have been hospitalised in Pskov, and doctors remain mystified as to the cause.
The hospital corridors are crammed full of poison victims suffering from Toxic Hepatitis, a vile condition where their skin turns bile yellow before they die a horrible death. While 80% of patients die in a matter of days or weeks, 20% go home but their days are numbered. By the time they die, all their organs are yellow, including the brain.
This World has been given unique access to Pskov City Emergency Services, the Hospital, the Police Force and the City Officials who are fighting to bring this horrific epidemic under control.
John Sweeney successfully penetrates the world of Pskov's counterfeit bootleggers and films undercover while he buys some illegal alcohol.
But the investigation puts John Sweeney's own health at risk when he accidentally tastes some potentially poisoned alcohol.
Toxicology lab
The St Petersburg Toxicology lab's preliminary tests on the confiscated counterfeit alcohol show that a medical disinfectant called Extrasept has been implicated as the source of the poisonings. It is a blend of chemicals which may have a synergetic cocktail effect and accelerate liver damage.
Extrasept is a medical alcohol, and recent government changes to alcohol tax legislation have freed all medical alcohols from the usual hefty alcohol tax. Suddenly the bootleggers had an even cheaper source of alcohol.
After filming in Russia, toxicology tests of Extrasept were carried out on human liver cells wiping them out proving beyond doubt that Extrasept is a human liver killer.
Reporter: John Sweeney
Producer/Director: Steve Grandison
Editor: Karen O'Connor
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