Due to the high mortality rate in humans and the small number of organisms required to establish infection , '' B. mallei '' is regarded as a potential biological warfare or bioterrorism agent , as is the closely related organism , '' B. pseudomallei '' , the causative agent of melioidosis . During World War I , glanders was believed to have been spread deliberately by German agents to infect large numbers of Russian horses and mules on the Eastern Front . Other agents attempted to introduce the disease in the United States and Argentina . This had an effect on troop and supply convoys , as well as on artillery movement , which were dependent on horses and mules . Human cases in Russia increased with the infections during and after WWI . The Japanese deliberately infected horses , civilians , and prisoners of war with '' B. mallei '' at the Unit 731 Pingfang ( China ) Institute and Unit 100 facilities during World War II . The U.S. studied this agent as a possible biological weapon in 1943 – 44 , but did not weaponize it . U.S. interest in glanders ( agent LA ) continued through the 1950s , except it had an inexplicable tendency to lose virulence in the lab , making it difficult to weaponize . Between 1982 and 1984 , the Soviet Union allegedly used weaponized '' B. mallei '' during the Soviet – Afghan War
Unit 731
Unit 731
Glanders