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 symptom. Anthrax 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.
