[magnum12]

^ The stuff I have regarding it are as follows.

1.

Spoiler for critical higurashi twist:

The symptoms of HS are paranoia, extreme aggression, and audio/visual hallucinations.

1 and 3 have been strongly associated with corruptions of dopamine expression in the limbic system. 2 is associated with malfunctions in serotonin uptake. Evidence for the later is supported by foresnics/medical reports of various mass murders in which the suspect was on SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) drugs.

The limbic system is a key part of the serotonin pathway as well, which means that

Spoiler for critical twist:

infection of the limbic system is necessitated inHinimizawa Syndrome

. Certain deaths in the 2nd and 5th novels can also be explained by naturalistic explanations. Intense fear

Spoiler for key plot twist:

such as from an uber terrifying hallucination

can be the cause of acute heart failure. This is further evidence of dopamine involvement.

2. My evidence in regards to the route of transmission comes from a certain person

Spoiler for key plot twist:

getting Hinimizawa Syndrome

in 4 of the 8 novels. This person getting it and suffering makes the following routes of transmission unlikely: vertical, i.e.

Spoiler for key plot twist:

from mother to child

and bloodborne. I would place my wagers on something like

Spoiler for key plot twist:

aerosol, infected saliva, or infected nasal seccretions

.

3. As for the difficulty in the hunting seen in the 8th novel, I think I can explain some of it from a naturalistic perspective. Since it seems that certain triggers are required for people to go insane

Spoiler for key plot twist:

a dormant infection mode and quite possibly an asymptomatic spread mechanism such as very low shedding of viruses

seem to be nessecary to the solution.

4. The points above lead me to my core blue truth.

Spoiler for key plot twist:

Hinimizawa Syndrome is a ficticious but UBER NASTY form of borna virus.

Spoiler for key plot twist:

Borna virus is a -RNA virus. This is a classification based on the type of genome a virus uses. Borna virus infection in humans predominately targets the limbic system. It also has a dormant infection state. The virus has long been suspected of causing mental illness in humans. At the time of the writing of Higurashi, Borna virus was not well understood.

In case you're wondering, I also studied microbiology, but my main focus was on mutualistic symbiotes. Perhaps the issue is that R7 made a minor mistake. Much of his research into the solution is spot on barring that one mistake.