What is out there?
So far the biological warfare agents I talked about were all kind of ”there“. They were not created for the specific purpose to spread an epidemic. At the dawn of the 20th century, as science was making huge leaps forward, also biological weapons became more dangerous.
The idea of actually creating microorganisms that can be weaponized first arose.
Agents are commonly selected because they:
Agents are commonly selected because they:
- · are highly toxic
- · are easily obtainable
- · are inexpensive to produce
- · are easily transferable from person to person
- · can be dispersed in aerosol form
- · have no known vaccine
So here are two tables, which give you kind of an idea what we are dealing with.
| Microbe | Natural Environment | Target Host | Mode of Contraction | Diseases/Symptoms | |
| AnthraxBacillus anthracis | Soil | Humans, Domestic Animals | Open Wounds, Inhalation | Pulmonary Anthrax Septicemia, Flu-like symptoms | |
| Clostridium botulinum | Soil | Humans | Contaminated Food or Water, | Inhalation | |
| Clostridium perfringens | Intestines of humans and other animals, Soil | Humans, Domestic Animals | Open Wounds | Gas gangrene, Severe Abdominal Cramps, Diarrhea | |
| RICINProtein Toxin | Extracted from Castor Bean Plants | Humans | Contaminated Food or Water, Inhalation, Injection | Severe Abdominal Pain, Watery and Bloody Diarrhea, Vomiting, Weakness, Fever, Cough, and Pulmonary Edema | |
| Smallpox | Eradicated from Nature, Now Obtained from Laboratory Stockpiles | Humans | Direct Contact with Bodily Fluids or Contaminated Objects, Inhalation | Persistent Fever, Vomiting, Rash on Tongue and in Mouth, Rash and Bumps on Skin |
Crucial biological agents (Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
| Disease | Pathogen | Abused1 |
|---|---|---|
| Category A (major public health hazards) | ||
| Anthrax | Bacillus antracis (B) | First World War |
| Second World War | ||
| Soviet Union, 1979 | ||
| Japan, 1995 | ||
| USA, 2001 | ||
| Botulism | Clostridium botulinum (T) | – |
| Haemorrhagic fever | Marburg virus (V) | Soviet bioweapons programme |
| Ebola virus (V) | – | |
| Arenaviruses (V) | – | |
| Plague | Yersinia pestis (B) | Fourteenth-century Europe |
| Second World War | ||
| Smallpox | Variola major (V) | Eighteenth-century N. America |
| Tularemia | Francisella tularensis (B) | Second World War |
| Category B (public health hazards) | ||
| Brucellosis | Brucella (B) | – |
| Cholera | Vibrio cholerae (B) | Second World War |
| Encephalitis | Alphaviruses (V) | Second World War |
| Food poisoning | Salmonella, Shigella (B) | Second World War |
| USA, 1990s | ||
| Glanders | Burkholderia mallei (B) | First World War |
| Second World War | ||
| Psittacosis | Chlamydia psittaci (B) | – |
| Q fever | Coxiella burnetti (B) | – |
| Typhus | Rickettsia prowazekii (B) | Second World War |
| Various toxic syndromes | Various bacteria | Second World War |
The biological agent most prevalent in people's minds is Anthrax. Because of that I will go into a bit more detail about this particular agent.
Anthrax, which is caused by the Bacillus anthracis, is very lethal and can affect animals and humans. The disease is spread via spores. And these spores are actually what make it so dangerous. They are able to survive in harsh conditions for decades or even centuries. They can even be found on Antarctica! When those spores are inhaled, indigested or come into contact with our skin they can be reactivated and cause infections in our lungs, our bowles or our skin. It is most lethal when the infection occurs in the lung. Although it can be treated with antiobiotics most people die within 3 to 6 days. The disease is said to be more frequent in areas with poor hygiene. This doesn't reduce the occurence of this disease to countires which typically come to our mind when we think of poor hygiene: 7 people died of this disease in Germany in 2010. Having said that it must be added that those people got the disease via infected heroin.
Anthrax, which is caused by the Bacillus anthracis, is very lethal and can affect animals and humans. The disease is spread via spores. And these spores are actually what make it so dangerous. They are able to survive in harsh conditions for decades or even centuries. They can even be found on Antarctica! When those spores are inhaled, indigested or come into contact with our skin they can be reactivated and cause infections in our lungs, our bowles or our skin. It is most lethal when the infection occurs in the lung. Although it can be treated with antiobiotics most people die within 3 to 6 days. The disease is said to be more frequent in areas with poor hygiene. This doesn't reduce the occurence of this disease to countires which typically come to our mind when we think of poor hygiene: 7 people died of this disease in Germany in 2010. Having said that it must be added that those people got the disease via infected heroin.
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