Bioterrorism

PreparationRecognitionAnd Response

Bioterrorism is defined by the Centers For Disease

Control as the deliberate release of infectious

agents with the intent to cause disease or Death in animals people or plants. 1

First Reference to Bioterrorism?

The old testament with the plague of god that kills all of the first-born of Egypt in retaliation for Pharoh Ramses' threat to kill the son of Moses

History of Biological Warfare or Bioterrorism

We get our English word for poison or toxin from the Greek word toxikon, which in turn is derived from the Greek word for arrow, toxon.

Herodotus, a Greek historian of the fifth century B.C.E. Describes the Scythians archers of the black sea as employing poison-tipped arrows. (2).

In the 5th century B.C.E., Scythians used the decomposed bodies of several venomous adders indigenous to their region, mixed human blood and dung into sealed vessels and buried this mixture until it was sufficiently putrefied. This poison would certainly contain the bacteria of gangrene and tetanus

Adder Venom, Dung, and Blood Yum Yum

In the 14th Century, the Tartar army used a combination of psychological warfare and bio-warfare. The ubiquitous rat and an outbreak of the bubonic plague among their own troops worked for the Tartar army besieging Kaffa in 1346. Tartars catapulted bodies of plague victims over the walls of Kaffa in an attempt to initiate an epidemic upon the residents. 2

The first recoded "weaponized" biological agent in North America occurred during the French and

Indian Wars . The agent was smallpox. The method of delivery

was blankets not bombs. Sir Jeffrey Amherst who was the commander of

British forces in North America formulated a plan to "reduce," as he so clinically expressed it, the size of the Native American tribes that were

hostile to the crown.

Bioterrorism vs Biological Warfare

What is the difference?

While Germany dabbled with biological weapons in World War I,

the Japanese military practiced biowarfare on a mass scale in the

years leading up to and throughout World War II. Directed against China, the onslaught was spearheaded by a

notorious division of the Imperial Army called Unit 731.

In occupied Manchuria, starting before WWII, Japanese scientists used scores of human subjects to

test the lethality of various disease agents, including

anthrax, cholera, typhoid, and plague. As many as 10,000

people were killed. 5

In active military campaigns, several hundred thousand people—mostly Chinese civilians—fell victim. In October 1940, the Japanese dropped paper bags filled with plague-infested fleas and grain over Chinese cities. Other attacks involved contaminating wells and distributing poisoned foods. The Japanese army never succeeded, though, in producing advanced biological munitions, such as pathogen-laced bombs. 5

Soviet Union and the U.S. reached new heights in the anxious climate of the Cold War. Both nations explored

the use of hundreds of different bacteria, viruses, and

biological toxins

In 1995 The apocalyptic religious sect Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas in a Tokyo subway, killing 12 commuters

and injuring thousands

This sect also released anthrax and botulinum

toxin, but failed to weaponize them

adequately.

The median inhaled human lethal dose of botulinum is ~ 3 nanograms. This means that ~ 10 lbs if evenly distributed, is enough to kill every person in the world.

In early October 2001, just days after Bob Stevens hiked through North Carolina's Chimney Rock Park and drank from a waterfall, government officials were retracing his steps. They were desperate to know why the 63-year-old man lay gravely ill in a Florida hospital. His diagnosis: anthrax.6

First Anthrax Victim in 2001 Attacks

Mr. Stevens and several of his co-workers were exposed

to anthrax in a mailed envelope. These attacks

sickened 22 people, killed 5 and resulted in tens of millions of dollars in decontamination that

included post offices and congressional office buildings

…and this was the first instance of bioterrorism in the U.S. Since smallpox infected blankets were

given to American Indians

“Bioterrorism Funding Withers As Death Germs Thrive In Labs, Nature”Article by Lynn Peeples Huffington Post Reporter on 2-10-12

Why Big Nations Lose Small Wars

Asymmetric warfare is war between belligerents whose relative military

power differs significantly, or whose strategy or

tactics differ significantly

Before ~ 1950’s wartime victory of the strong over the weak was the general rule,but after that era that

began to change.

Ring Around the RosyPocketful of PosiesAshes Ashes We All Fall down

Ring around the rosy (The feverous face encircled with

pustules)A pocket full of posies

(Flowers placed on the foul smelling victim)

Ashes, ashes (Septic shock that precedes death,

wearing of mourning ashes, or burning of the corpses of the plague

victims?)All fall down

(The victim dies)

1918 to 1919

Spanish Flu Pandemic. The world population was ~ 1.7

Billion 1st transatlantic flight

was in 1919

How many deaths were caused by this pandemic?

?

A. 100,000B. 500,000C 4,000,000D 40,000,000

Citing fears of an “unimaginable catastrophe,”

a government-appointed board on Tuesday explained

why it recently recommended censoring

details of new research on deadly bird flu virus.

“Our concern is that publishing these experiments in detail

would provide information to some person, organization, or government that would help them to develop similar ...

viruses for harmful purposes,” the 23 voting members of the

National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity wrote in a

statement published jointly Tuesday by the journals Science

and Nature.

Have we had this level of security since the

Manhattan Project?

CDC Categories of Biologic Agents

Category Acan be easily disseminated or transmitted from person to person;result in high mortality rates and have the potential for major public health impact;might cause public panic and social disruption; andrequire special action for public health preparedness.

Six Agents/DiseasesComprise Category A

-------------------------------------------Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)*

Botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin) *

Plague (Yersinia pestis)* Smallpox (variola major)

Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)* Viral hemorrhagic fevers (filoviruses

[e.g., Ebola, Marburg] and arenaviruses [e.g., Lassa,

Machupo])* (* can affect dogs and cats)

Tularemia is one of the most infectious diseases known,

inhalation of as few as 10 organisms will cause disease

NOT tularemia

Smallpox

Cutaneous Anthrax

Category BDefinition

Second highest priority agents include those that

are moderately easy to disseminate;result in moderate morbidity rates

and low mortality rates; andrequire specific enhancements of

CDC's diagnostic capacity and enhanced disease surveillance.

Brucellosis (Brucella species) Epsilon toxin of Clostridium perfringens

Food safety threats (e.g., Salmonella species, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Shigella)

Glanders (Burkholderia mallei)Melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei)

Psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci) Q fever (Coxiella burnetii)

Ricin toxin from Ricinus communis (castor beans)Staphylococcal enterotoxin B

Typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii)Viral encephalitis (alphaviruses [e.g., Venezuelan equine encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis,

western equine encephalitis])Water safety threats (e.g., Vibrio cholerae,

Cryptosporidium parvum)

We have now reached a point where pathogens

can be genetically engineered and even

hybridized which can yield increased virulence and atypical presentations

Prions are pieces of misfolded proteins that

are particularly difficult to destroy. They are very slow acting and have

recently been found to cross species barriers

more readily than believed

Agroterrorism is a subset of bioterrorism, and is defined as

thedeliberate introduction of an

animal or plant disease with the goal of generating fear,

causing economic losses, and/or undermining social stability.3

We are the land of milk and honey, and

that makes us particularly

vulnerable to agricultural terrorism.

Agroterrorism lacks the “shock value” of

traditional terrorist targets but the American

agricultural system is uniquely vulnerable.

Farms are geographically disbursed in unsecured environments. Livestock are frequently concentrated in confined locations, and transported or commingled with other herds.

Agricultural diseases are relatively easy to obtain, handle

and distribute..

International trade in food products often is tied to disease-

free status.

The FMD outbreak in the U.K. was estimated to

cause a ~ 6 billion loss. These impacts exceed the value

of the animalsbecause of the number of industries affected by the

outbreak, ranging from feedsuppliers to tourism.

A similar outbreak in the U.S. has been estimated to cost about $25

billion.It is further estimated that 25 miles

of trench would be required to shoot and bury the livestock. The

psychological impact on farmers would be indescribable

These impacts exceed the value of the animals

because of the number of industries affected by the

outbreak, ranging from feedsuppliers to tourism.

The United States has the lowest spending on food prepared

at home (6.5%) compared to the rest of the world, which ranges

from 10%-15% formost developed countries and

30% or higher for some developing countries.3

The Department of Homeland Security is proceeding with plans to replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center with a new “National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility” for research on high consequence foreign animal diseases. The research facility is being moved to Manhattan Kansas.

A WHO simulation of an FMD attack by a terrorist at a single location. Only after the 5th day of the attack would the disease be detected, by which time it may have spread to 23 states. By the 8th day, 23 million animals may need to be destroyed in 29 states.

Although bioterrorist agents are traditionally thought of as affecting

livestock, they can affect companion animals and

wildlife as well!

Establishing a working relationship between WesCART, medical

professionals and other emergency personnel is important to allow open

communicating and coordination in times of

crisis

CDC has a 24/7 Emergency response

hotline at 770-488-7100770-488-7100

Westchester County Department of Health at (914)

813-5000

Steven Immerblum DVM (914) 262-2572

NY State Veterinarian Dr. David Smith Office telephone no: (518) 457-3502 fax no: (518) 485-7773 e-mail : david.Smith@agriculture.ny.Gov

State Public Health Veterinarian

Bryan Chery VMD, PhDNew York State

Department of Health

518-473-4439Bxc05@health.State.ny.

U

1. CDC website on Bioterrorism www.bt.cdc.gov/bioterrorism2. A History of Biological

Warfare from 300 B.C.E. to the Present

Thomas J. JohnsonAssociate Professor of Respiratory

Care and Health SciencesDivision Director, Respiratory Care,

School of Health Professions http://www.aarc.org/resources/biological/history.asp

3. Agroterrorism: Threats and PreparednessUpdated March 12, 2007

Jim MonkeAnalyst in Agricultural Policy

Resources, Science, and Industry Division

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_warfare

5. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bioterror

/hist_nf.html

6. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/bioterrorism-bioterror-funding-_n_1263903.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl7%7Csec1_lnk1%26pLid%3D13455