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This story was printed from Terrorism,
located at /27393/dreamwvr/terrorism/counters1.htm
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COUNTER MEASURES
It begins with a threat. Perhaps you heard it on the radio, or saw
the news flash on TV. Some terrorist group demanding that unless its ransom can
be paid in cash, it will release Anthrax over Washington DC. Two days later, a
chartered helicopter soars above Washington, spraying a cloud of dust in the
air.
Sooner or later, there is going to be a biological attack on a major city. Are
we prepared to deal with it? Fat hope.
Scenario one: Thousands die as millions rush to leave the city. The police tries
to set up barricades to control the tide of human bodies but hundred die in
confrontations with riot police. Those trapped in the city inhale the spores.
Within hours, hospitals are over flooded and little can be done since the
country’s limited supply of anti-serum has already been dispensed to the
military. Thousands lounge in waiting rooms, unable to receive treatment. The
Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization step in but little
can be done. It is too late, millions die.
Scenario two: In the hours before the attack, citizens rush to bomb shelters
while trained personnel evacuate the sick and disabled. Those in the bunker pay
close attention to radio and news broadcasts, while trained personnel from both
the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization work in synergy
to contain the situation. They set up multiple base camps around the city and
provide hospitals with an adequate supply of antibiotics and vaccines.
Once sensors detect the Anthrax spores, police intercept the plane carrying the
terrorists. In the meantime, weather forecasts enable the medical workers to
predict where the deadly cloud will drift next. The terrorists are brutally
tortured and forced to reveal their leader who is subsequently apprehended and
executed. (Hey, it can’t be a happy ending for everyone, you know) With solid
preparation and little panic, only thousands die. Tourism drops, sending a few
hot dog stands out of business.
A terrorist planning to drop anthrax over an unsuspecting populace can count on
two things. The panic such an attack will generate and the resulting
catastrophic death toll. And a drop in tourism.
Already, the truth and reconciliation hearings in South Africa revealed that the
Apartheid regime has produced weapons using Anthrax, Salmonella and Cholera.
Soviet Scientists have admitted that weapons grade anthrax and smallpox has been
known to been bought by terrorists groups such as the one run by Osama Bin Laden
and even smaller groups such as the Aum Shinrikyo sect in Japan have been able
to manufacture vast amounts of botulin, the toxin responsible for botulism.
In order to rectify this problem, scientists, bureaucrats, and security experts
gathered in Stockholm to discuss how the threat of a terrorist armed with
biological weapons can be contained. So far, most of the strategies used to
counter biological weapons have been designed specifically for the military.
Adapting these tactics for civilian use will be immensely difficult as civilians
lack the training and the strong nerves needed to handle a terrorist threat.
Furthermore, most of the equipment used by the military is way too expensive for
civilian use. The many suits designed to combat bacteriological agents are much
too dear for your local fire department and civilian gas mask lack the
reinforced seals needed to keep germs out, rendering them useless in the event
of a terrorist attack.
Two companies, Geomet and Irvin Aerospace have plans to sell civilian bio-suits
and Molecular Geodesics has plans to market a suit that actually kills germs.
This tough suit is made from a synthetic sponge like polymer that traps bacteria
and viruses that are then killed by disinfectants in the fabric.
None of this gear will be of any use if people are unaware of an attack. The
first hint of such an attack might be a sudden cluster of sick people. Even
then, civilian doctors might not recognize the symptoms and fail to take the
proper precautions to isolate the patients.
Even when hordes of infected victims start filling emergency rooms, early
diagnoses might not be simple since the initial symptomAnthrax
as a Biological Weapons of pathogens such as anthrax, plague and many other
agents closely resemble those of flu. What’s more, once people hear that such
an attack has taken place, these symptoms might be brought on by panic attacks.
One solution might be to employ the use of expensive, high tech detectors that
can identify the tell-tale molecules released by lung membranes during the early
stages of infection.
Eventually, experts predict that detectors weighing no more than two kilograms
costing less than $5000 will come on the market and such devices will help
doctors in their diagnosis. They can also be set up around the city to provide
early warning of an airborne pathogen. Other developments include using gadgets
such as microscopic electronic chips containing live nerve cells that can warn
of the presence of bacterial toxins or viruses.
Like a canary in a coal mine, these chips will let off a steady stream of
"chatter" until something kills them. The only drawback is that this
"canary in a chip" is unable to detect specific pathogens. Other
devices in the pipeline include a fibre optic tube lined with antibodies
attached to photon emitting molecules. When toxins or bacteria stimulate these
molecules, they light up.
Devices based on antibodies aren’t very useful. First of all, you need the
correct antibody. Not easy once you realize the huge number of pathogens (and
their corresponding mutations) you need to include. Secondly, most pathogens are
able to change their surface proteins from time to time.
For example, a stronger protein coat might enable that protein to live longer in
air, thus making it airborne. Even then, even the correct antibodies can only
determine the nature of the particle’s surface. Germs can be protected by
surface gels or biological polymer "jackets" to foil antibodies. Even
normally harmless bacteria can be suitably altered modified to carry nasty
genes.
To combat this threat, researchers are trying to harness the potential of RNA
analysis. Unlike DNA, RNA is abundant in cells and need not be amplified to be
identified. This saves time, and money. Messenger RNA particles reveal not only
the nature of the microorganism but also the type of toxin it is producing.
Determining the nature of the micro-organism is only part of the battle.
Vaccinating people before they can come into contact with the pathogen is one
way to protect the public. The US military has already begun vaccinating US
soldiers and they have launched a program to develop vaccines against potential
agents for which none exist.
As wonderful as developing vaccines sound, they are no panacea. A wily terrorist
need only perhaps develop a slightly altered protein coat to render that vaccine
ineffective. To solve this problem, what researchers need to do is to find ways
to develop vaccines quick enough for them to be synthesized and distributed
within 24 hours of an attack. One solution would be to speed up DNA sequencing
and unravel the DNA code of the pathogen and the resulting sequence can be used
as the basis for developing an instant vaccine.
Even then, it will be difficult to persuade the public to voluntarily take shots
and furthermore, it will be terribly expensive to immunize entire populations.
Moreover, many of these vaccines require booster shots to ensure the
effectiveness of the vaccine. An attack might persuade them to cooperate, but by
then, there might be a shortage and it would be too late.
Perhaps, instead of hedging their bets on vaccines, the government should
instead focus on developing drugs that work on a broad spectrum of infections
even before the disease has been properly diagnosed. These non-specific drugs
will take advantage of the similarities in the way many agents operate. For
example, Ebola, Anthrax and Plague all work by inducing an inflammatory reaction
similar to toxic shock syndrome and a drug that can reduce this inflammatory
response just might do the trick.
Another class of pathogens, bacteria such as plague, salmonella and shigella
rely on very similar proteins that attach themselves to human cells and inject
their deadly toxins. Drugs designed to interfere with this process could, in
theory, stop the bacteria.
In conclusion, as hopeful as all these solutions sound, many fear that these
counter measures will not be available in time to protect people from a
biological attack. At the moment, the US is one of the few countries, along with
Sweden, France and Israel that are taking the threat of a biological attack
seriously. The problem is that many governments have more immediate concerns to
worry about and so are not devoting the resources needed to handle an attack.
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