Biological Warfare/Bioterrorism Flashcards
Biological warfare/Bioterrorism is
The deliberate dispersal of infective/toxic agents to kill or incapacitate man/and or to destroy or severely damage livestock, crops and disrupt the food chain
Biological warfare is prohibited by
The biological weapons council and the Geneva convention
Biological warfare vs Bioterrorism
Bio warfare: used in war (towards armed forces), usually involves nation states
Bioterrorism: used against civilians, state sponsored or extremist groups
Targets
- Armed forces
- Civilians
- Livestock
- Crops
Biothreat agents
- Viruses (smallpox, ebola, influenza, FMDV)
- Bacteria (anthrax, plague, meliodosis)
- Fungi (coccidiomycosis, wheat stem rust, rice blast)
- Toxins (botulism, ricin)
Biothreat agents: Smallpox
Virus
Mortality rate between 30-50%
Low infectious dose
Smallpox stocks
Biothreat agents: Plague
Caused by bacterium Yersinia pestis
Flea bite transmission causes bubonic plague (not very lethal)
Inhalation causes pneumonic plague (very lethal, almost 100% mortality rate - multi drug resistant strains reported in Madagascar)
Properties of biological weapons
- Low infectious dose (potent)
- Cheap
- Easy to produce
- Difficult to attribute
Production
Very easy to grow bacteria, viruses more difficult
Source and properties of strains are a key issue - tightly regulated
Cost
1/30 cost of nukes
Chosen by states and groups with limited funding
Not a weapon of choice for advanced nations
Potency
Depends on infectious/toxic dose and airborne stability
Plague is 1 billion times more potent than chlorine
Bioweapons are likely to be delivered by the
Airborne route
Many pathogens cause more severe disease by this route
What affects airborne stability
- UV radiation
- Rainfall
- Temperature
- Pollutants/airborne chemicals
In March 1981 prevailing winds brought
Foot and mouth from Brittany to the UK
Attribution
How to distinguish between a natural outbreak, accidental outbreak and deliberate outbreak
UK anthrax weapons
1939-45
UK produced anthrax spores to bring down German economy if there was an invasion (livestock)
Bombs containing anthrax tested on Gruinard Island in Scotland
Mid 80s had to decontaminate the island
Late 50s UK bioweapons closed down
Russia biological weapons
Russia said they abandoned bioweapons in 50s but
Sverdlosk 1979
Massive outbreak of anthrax - tried to blame it on contaminated sheep
But it was due to an accident at the anthrax drying plant
Russia still has
A large arsenal of biological weapons
Markov assassination
Bulgarian defected to London
Assassinated on Waterloo bridge in 1978
Stabbed with an umbrella containing a ricin pellet
Died 3 days later
Bulgarian SS carried out this and a large number of other assassinations using these methods
Aum Shinrikyo Cult 1993
Japan
Developed and tested bioweapons, especially anthrax
Released over Tokyo (but was wrong strain)
Went on to carry out nerve agent attacks in Tokyo
Anthrax in the mail 2001
Sent in US, 19 infected, 5 died
Perpetrators never identified
Spores came from sophisticated laboratory - weapons grade (state sponsored?)
Attribution: Genome sequencing reveal ‘Ames’ strain but very general
Rare spontaneous variants - different colony forms on agar (morphotypes) within Ames strain from different sources
Morphotypes used to distinguish which Ames strain it was
Unique match was stocks held at US army lab by Dr Bruce Ivins (their own lab!) Bruce Ivins committed suicide
Dodgy!!!
How to control bioweapons
- Prohibition of aquisition and production
- Defensive capability
- Export controls (pathogens, technologies, equipment)
- Security of premises with CL3 and CL4 labs
- Vetting of staff
- Code of conduct for microbiologists?
- Refusal to publish papers that aid weapons production?
Biological weapons convention 1972
Forbids the development, production and stockpiling of biological weapons
But quite impossible to enforce
It is believed that the potential for terrorist use will
Increase
