> Although Takaki clearly established that the cause was due to nutritional issues, this conflicted with the prevailing idea among medical scientists that #beriberi was an infectious disease. The Imperial #JapaneseArmy,.. dominated by doctors from Tokyo Imperial University, persisted in their belief that beriberi was an infectious disease, and refused to implement a remedy.. #RussoJapaneseWar of 1904–1905, over 200,000 soldiers suffered from beriberi – 27,000 fatally..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takaki_Kanehiro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takaki_Kanehiro