In the early 30s, Soviet doctors faced an epidemic of a mysterious disease with a very high mortality rate in the Urals.
In the spring of 1933, an epidemic of an unknown disease broke out in the Urals, with a huge mortality rate. The disease, which resembled angina in its first manifestations, led to the death of more than half of those infected. The epidemic covered almost a hundred settlements, the forces of the OGPU were involved in quarantine measures, groups of the best specialists were sent to the Urals, who argued about the diagnoses hoarsely. It was only a little over ten years later that the mystery of the "Ural disease" was finally solved.
Flash
The first cases of the disease were recorded in the Urals in late April - early May. By mid-May, it became clear that this was a real epidemic. Cases of the disease were recorded in more than 80 settlements in the territory of the present Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk and Tyumen regions.
The disease began as an ordinary sore throat - with a sharp rise in temperature and redness of the throat. However, then ulcers appeared in the throat, tissue necrosis began, severe bleeding from the mouth and nose. Within four to five days, most of the sick died. In various areas of the epidemic, mortality from the disease was estimated in the range from 65 to 80%. Panic broke out among local residents.
There was no specific treatment, it was not even clear what kind of disease it was. A group of specialists headed by the famous epidemiologist Professor Lev Gromashevsky was sent to the Urals. By the forces of the OGPU and the railway guard, strict quarantine was established in the epidemic areas with a complete ban on entry and exit from settlements. The sale of train tickets in these areas was discontinued, and trains were also prohibited from stopping. By the end of June, more than 1,300 cases of the disease had been recorded, more than 700 cases had died.
Promotional video:
Counterrevolutionary scurvy
Gromashevsky and the plague specialist Vladimir Suknev, who helped him, after examining the sick, came to the conclusion that there was no infectious epidemic. They diagnosed the patients with scurvy and, at a meeting with local doctors, said that there was no need for quarantine, and that the epidemic was caused by the very poor food supply in the region. In 1932-1933, a very serious famine occurred in the USSR, which affected almost all regions. The local population ate mainly on bread substitutes. According to the professors, it was enough to establish food supply to the region for the epidemic to subside.
Gromashevsky Lev Vasilievich.
A doctor from the Berdyuga hospital (now the Tyumen region), who was convinced that an outbreak of an infectious disease had occurred in the Urals, did not agree with them. He performed several autopsies of patients, but was never able to find the causative agent of the disease. Ostracized by his colleagues, he committed suicide.
Meanwhile, the Chekists got into the matter. The deputy head of the plenipotentiary office of the OGPU for the Urals, Minaev, demanded that the Moscow professors, sowing confusion, be sent back to the capital. "In connection with the clearly counter-revolutionary installation of Gromashevsky and Suknev - the requirement on the basis of the diagnosis of scurvy to lift the quarantine, the expulsion of food, with which, in their opinion, the epidemic will end, raised the question of recalling the brigade," Minaev reported to Moscow.
Arrival of the Commissar
Gromashevsky, who displeased the local authorities, was sent back to Moscow. At the same time, the People's Commissar of Health Mikhail Vladimirsky arrived in Sverdlovsk by plane. The People's Commissar was convinced that the disease was infectious, therefore quarantine measures were justified.
True, it was not possible to establish a diagnosis for a long time. Initially, pneumonic plague was suspected in patients, especially after it became known that some of the patients were eating rats. However, the plague was convincingly refuted by Suknev and Gromashevsky. The second popular version was diphtheria. Some of the patients had clear signs of this disease, but most of the deceased did not have diphtheria.
Health Commissioner Mikhail Vladimirsky.
In mid-June, the "Ural disease" finally got its official name. She became known as septic sore throat. Vladimirsky's commission has not been able to unambiguously identify the causative agents of the disease. “We are dealing with a completely new disease for us, the study of which has hardly even begun. The question of the etiological agent requires further persistent research,”doctors in Moscow said.
Otherwise, the situation was rather positive. The infectious component of the disease turned out to be exaggerated, experts have not been able to find any evidence that the disease is transmitted from person to person. In this regard, it was recommended to lift the strict quarantine.
Pests
At the end of June, the doctors finally managed to get on the trail. After conducting a thorough investigation and finding out the diet of the sick, they came to the conclusion that last year's grain could be the cause of the disease.
A group of epidemiologists conducted studies on mice. All of them received injections with squeeze of last year's cereals. Most of the experimental animals died from these injections. The doctors unequivocally concluded that spoiled grain was the cause. However, it was not possible to establish the cause then. On the advice of doctors, last year's harvest was banned for use, and food aid was sent from Moscow, after which no new cases of the disease were recorded. The security officers suspected of all the intrigues of pests.
In 1937, a number of officers were arrested in the Sverdlovsk region, who, during interrogations, confessed to participating in the so-called fascist officer organization, which worked simultaneously for the Finnish, German, Polish and Japanese intelligence services. They were also blamed for the poisoning of the crop in 1933.
The answer to the "Ural disease"
However, nine years later, the outbreak of the "Ural disease" was repeated, this time in the Orenburg region. The picture completely resembled the previous one - against the background of insufficiently satisfactory nutrition, many people began to fall ill with septic angina, the mortality rate was no less high than in 1933. All the sick ate last year's grain.
This time they did not blame everything on the pests, but figured out the issue thoroughly. In Chkalov (now Orenburg), a special laboratory was deployed for a comprehensive study of a dangerous disease.
Soon after the war, the mystery of the deadly "Ural disease" was finally solved. She was given a new official name - alimentary toxic aleukia. Experts managed to establish the cause of the epidemic. These were toxic molds of the genus Fusarium sporotrichiella, which actively began to multiply on cereals that overwintered in the field.
Getting into the body along with spoiled cereals, these fungi acted as a powerful poison. They destroyed the hematopoietic system and bone marrow. At the final stage, tissue necrosis and bleeding were added.
The doctors managed to find effective methods of treatment. Blood transfusion and shock doses of vitamins B and C in many cases saved the patient from death. Even the transition to a nutritious diet (meat, vegetables, fruits, milk) reduced the number of deaths several times. It has also been found that life-threatening conditions occur only after several weeks or even months of feeding on the affected cereals.
But the most reliable way to protect yourself from the disease was to refuse to eat wheat, buckwheat, barley, millet and other cereals that overwintered in the field. Throughout the Soviet Union, a powerful preventive campaign was carried out (up to the house walk) to explain the dangers of adding them to food.
With the final solution to the mystery of the "Ural disease" and the development of preventive measures, the disease was practically defeated. Since the 1940s, there have been no more serious cases of the epidemic of alimentary-toxic aleukia in the USSR.
Author: Evgeniy Antonyuk
