BIOLOGICALWARFARE

Introduction

Biological warfare (also known as biowarfare or germ warfare) may be either anti-personnel or anti-agricultural.

Agents of biological warfare

Biological Weapons

Living organisms (or

replicating entities)

Bacteria

Viruses

Protozoa

Fungi

Protists

Biological Toxins

Living organisms

The use of living organisms (eg. Bacteria) or replicating entities (eg. Viruses) are the most common forms of biological weapons.

Bacillus anthracis Variola virus

BIOLOGICAL TOXINS• Apart from living organisms, certain toxins

produced by living organisms can also be used.• Use of toxins produced by living organisms is

considered as both Biological Warfare as well as Chemical Warfare.

Types of biological weapons

Anti-personnel

These are bioweapons used against humans.

Anti- agricultural

These are bioweapons used against crops.

Agent orange was a herbicide used by the US military as a part of its herbicide warfare against Vietnam (1961-1971).

A patient suffering from the anthrax disease due to inhalation of the bacteria.

Vietnamese man whose face is deformed due to birth defects caused by Agent Orange

Potential biological weapon agents

Characteristics of biological weapons

Ideal characteristics of a bio-weapon are: - High infectivity - High potency- Non-availability of vaccines against it

Diseases most likely to be considered for use as biological weapons are contenders because of their lethality (if delivered efficiently), and robustness (making aerosol delivery feasible). The primary difficulty is not the production of the biological agent but delivery in an infective form to a vulnerable target.

Why countries and terrorists choose bio weapons

1. Bio weapons are very cheap.

2. They kill large number of people.Example: 10 gms of anthrax can kill 1.3 million people.

3. They are invisible, odourless, tasteless when released.

Realities of biological warfare and terrorism

• 1.They are more threatening than the conventional weapons.

• 2.They are easy to obtain and are inexpensive.• 3.Their detection and prohibition are very difficult.

HistoryBiological warfare has been practiced repeatedly throughout history. Before the 20th century, the use of biological agents took three major forms:

1. Deliberate poisoning of food and water with infectious material2. Use of microorganisms, toxins or animals, living or dead, in a weapon system3. Use of biologically inoculated fabrics.

Ancient written texts from the Middle East may reveal that the use of biological weapons dates back more than 3300 years.Hittites - whose empire stretched from modern-day Turkey to northern Syria - sent diseased rams to their enemies to weaken them with tularemia, (also known as rabbit fever ) a devastating bacterial infection that remains a potential bio-terror threat even todayThe bacterium responsible for tularemia, Francisella tularensis, causes symptoms ranging from skin ulcers to respiratory failure.

Middle ages 18th Century 19th Century

The victims of the famous Bubonic plague were used as weapons by the Mongol warriors, as the disease was highly contagious.

There is evidence which reveals that the British army intended on using blankets to spread small pox to Indians.

Texts and books written during those times indicate the use of bioweapons for spreading deadly diseases such as measles.

20TH CENTURYE120 bombletThe E120 biological bomblet was one of a number of spherical biological bomblets that were developed before the United States discontinued its offensive program in the 1970s. The outer shell of this spherical bomblet was designed to provide rotation during flight. On impact, the outer shell would shatter; the bomblet was asymmetrically weighted so that agent would then be sprayed from the top of the bomblet. The E120 bomblet was developed in the early 1960s, 11.4 cm diameter, carried 0.1 kg of liquid biological agent.

Biodefense

• Biodefense involves medical measures to protect people against biological agents. This means medicines and vaccinations. It also means medical research and preparations to defend against bioterrorist attacks.

Biological Weapons Convention, abbreviation

• BWC, was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of an entire category of weapons. The BWC entered into force March 26, 1975 when twenty-two governments had deposited their instruments of ratification.