Biological Weapons

» Jump to: Characteristics of Biological Weapons — Types of Biological Weapons

» Subsections: Bacteria — Viruses — Toxins — Protective Measures

Biological warfare is the intentional use of microorganisms or toxins (poisonous substances produced by living organisms or synthetic processes) to cause death or disease in humans, animals, or plants. Biological weapons may be bacteria, viruses, or toxins. Weight for weight, they can be hundreds of thousands of times more lethal than the most deadly chemical agents.

The international biohazard symbol is shown to the right. It is used to indicate the presence of a dangerous biological agent.

Ease of Production

Biological weapons can be produced easily in a short amount of time. Thus, the challenge is not in production, but rather in conducting an effective delivery to a specific target. Biological agents can also be used to destroy crops and animals--cut off the target's food source. These weapons have not been used extensively in modern warfare; they are used more to threaten the enemy. At present, over 100 countries have the capacity to produce biological weapons on a large scale.

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of a Biological Weapon

Many factors affect how many people die as a result of the release of a biological agent. The type of agent--infectious or contagious--affects whether indirect contact will spread the disease. Weather conditions, topographical features, and the method of dispersal all come into play. The effectiveness of a bioweapon depends on the amount of material that reaches the lungs and remains in the respiratory tract. Environmental factors such as light and temperature may weaken a biological agent.

Characteristics of Biological Weapons

Some of the most common characteristics of biological weapons are:

High Infectivity

Biological agents could easily enter, survive and multiply in the victim's body.

High Potency

Biological weapons have the potential to bring deadly effects upon their victims.

Availability of Caccines

There is a vaccine in existence for emergency purposes (eg. A friendly target became infected)

Delivery as an Aerosol

They could be dispersed in the atmosphere as tiny particles

Difficulty in Detecting Immediately

Hundreds of thousands of people may be exposed before they know it. Oftentimes, people are unable to see, smell, or taste the agents. Aerosol clouds are often invisible.

Types of Biological Agents

Bacteria

» Subsections: Anthrax — Plague

Bacteria are microscopic, single-celled, prokaryotic organisms that carry out a wide range of biochemical processes. Many have beneficial effects such as enriching the surrounding soil. However, some may cause disease by invading body tissue or by producing harmful toxins. Bacteria cause strep throat, dysentary, undulant fever, cholera, diphtheria, Lyme disease, salmonella, pulmonary tuberculosis, and the bubonic plague.

Viruses

» Subsections: Smallpox — Ebola

Viruses are organisms that are 100 times smaller than bacteria. They consist of genetic material surrounded by a protective protein coat. After invading cells, viruses take over the cell's reproductive machinery to reproduce themselves. In doing so, they cause disease and sometimes death. Examples of viral diseases include influenza, AIDS, chickenpox, mumps, measles, yellow fever, dengue fever, smallpox, hepatitis, Ebola, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis.

Toxins

» Subsections: Ricin — Botulinum toxin

Toxins are poisonous substances produced by living organisms or synthetic processes. They can harm human beings and other animals. They are nearly always proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact with body tissue. Toxins cause injuries as varied from mild bee stings to deadly botulism. In nature, they are produced for predation and defense by spiders, snakes, jellyfish, wasps, poison dart frogs, the deadly nightshade, and honeybees. Toxins include hemotoxins, which destroy red blood cells; necrotoxins, which destroy all types of tissue they encounter (necrosis); and neurotoxins, which affect the nervous system.

What about fungi?

Fungi are saprobic organisms, meaning they are responsible for the decay and decomposition of organic matter. Although they do not usually cause disease in humans, they commonly destroy staple crops such as wheat and rice, which many people depend on for food. Thus, the use of fungi as a biological weapon can ultimately result in hunger and economic problems.

Protective Measures

» View: Main Page

What can you do to protect yourself against a bioterrorist threat? Learn some of the practical (and obvious) measures that one can take in case of biological attack.

Supergerms

With the advent of genetic engineering and biotechnology, scientists are now able to play with the very genetic fabric of life itself. Recombinant DNA technology can allow genes from one species to be transplanted to another. These advances could allow scientists to create "supergerms" with no known defense.

On the bright side, some experts believe that the "supergerm" scenario is exaggerated. They doubt that new genetic enginering techniques will be able to produce harmful pathogens that can be effectively stored and delivered to their target. The development, production, storage, and use of complex biological agents involve complicated processes.

Even with these reservations, all scientists agree that genetic engineering has the potential to:

• Modify an existing deadly but rare disease into one that could be cheaply mass-produced
• Improve the ability of a microorganism to survive after being sprayed from ships or aircraft or released with intense heat from bombs or missiles
• Toughening viruses or other bioweapons so that they can overcome the human immune system's defenses. (This can be achieved by altering the antigens on the outer surface of viruses.)
• Speeding up the action of a disease organism so it causes illness within hours rather than days. If the incubation period is too short, however, the agent will not have time to be communicated to other humans.
• Deploying microbes against livestock or crop plants so that a nation's food supply and economy would be damaged