The suspicion that the encephalitis tick was specially bred in Japan as a secret weapon appeared after the first outbreak of this disease in the USSR. There is still no direct evidence of the involvement of Japanese microbiologists in the emergence of this problem, but there is more than enough indirect evidence.
In the mid-1930s, a strange epidemic broke out in the garrisons of the Far Eastern group of the Red Army. The sick suddenly had a fever, severe headaches, uncontrollable vomiting, muscle aches, and after a few days the victim fell into a delusional state. Very often everything ended in paralysis and death.
Scientists vs. Scientists
The symptoms of the disease were first described in 1935 by doctor Panov. In 1937, an expedition of the People's Commissariat for Health under the leadership of Professor Zilber arrived in the Primorskaya taiga. The only thing scientists relied on was the similarity of an unknown disease with Japanese encephalitis, a sudden outbreak of which in the 1920s claimed several thousand lives. Japanese encephalitis was spread by mosquitoes and wore a focal form.
Zilber's team built an epidemic town in the taiga and began research. One can only marvel at the fanatical dedication of these people, who often experimented on themselves. One of the scientists, having become infected, died, the second remained disabled, but the secret of the disease was revealed. The viral infection affected the central nervous system and resulted in brain inflammation. The disease carrier, the ixodid tick, was also identified.
The version of the involvement of militaristic Japan in the epidemic arose almost immediately. But the first arguments appeared only after the defeat of the Kwantung Army and the liberation of Manchuria. In June 1936, by order of Emperor Hirohito, the construction of a large military-bacteriological complex began. The secret laboratory was located near the captured Harbin, the unit providing its work was called "detachment 731". Detachment 731 included about 3,000 specialists in the cultivation of plague, cholera, typhoid and other dangerous bacilli. In the incubators, millions of potential carriers of infection were removed, which were planned to be dropped onto enemy territory in special porcelain bombs.
But the most terrifying thing was that in the camp at the laboratory there were thousands of prisoners, mostly Chinese and Russians, on whom the Japanese Menge-le from microbiology tested their inventions. Since 1942 alone, from three to ten thousand people have been murdered in the laboratory in the most brutal manner. A bomb filled with infected fleas was dropped onto the test site with subjects tied to poles, then they observed and recorded how the "logs" fell ill and died, as the sadistic experimenters called the subjects.
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In the summer of 1945, when the situation in Japan became desperate, the leadership of "Unit 731" was ordered to get rid of the remaining test subjects and destroy traces of the existence of the camp and biological laboratories. The prisoners were killed, the laboratory buildings were blown up, but the traces of the crime could not be hidden.
Dangerous legacy
At the Khabarovsk trial in 1949, Japanese microbiologists were brought to trial. From their testimony it followed that tick-borne encephalitis was also one of the areas of work, although no official statements on this topic were made. All the persons involved in the process were convicted and received different terms, but after some time they were released. Many of them, as well as other Nazi criminals, found refuge and work in the United States, where their experience was undoubtedly in demand.
The positions of modern researchers regarding the encephalitis tick differ. Some say that attempts to classify it as an artificially derived biological weapon is complete nonsense, that all epidemics were completely natural and the laboratory near Harbin has nothing to do with them.
Others are of the opinion that tick-borne encephalitis is the most tenacious and deadly development of "squad 731". And this reasoning makes sense, because neither Przhevalsky was mentioned about the disease, although his employees worked in the taiga almost without getting out, nor various participants in the Civil War in Primorye. Encephalitis does not inflict pinpoint strikes on the enemy, but this is not necessary. And the fact that now encephalitis is an uncontrollable genie released from a bottle does not mean that it was not created as a weapon.
In conclusion, it should be noted that in the United States, the encephalitis tick is included in the list of the arsenal of international terrorists. And the Americans, like no one else, are versed in weapons of mass destruction.
Magazine: Mysteries of History №41. Author: Eduard Shaurov