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microbiology > lecture 13) biowarfare and bioterrorism > Flashcards

lecture 13) biowarfare and bioterrorism Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

define biological warfare/bioterrorsim

A

the deliberate dispersal of toxic agents to kill or incapacitate man and/or destroy or severely damage livestock, crops and disrupt foodchain

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2
Q

why would you aim bioterrorism at livestock and crops?

A

disrupts economy of a country and makes it more vulnerable

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3
Q

what is the UK’s stance on bioterrorism?

A

it is inhumane, illegal and entirely unacceptable in a modern world

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4
Q

what is biological warfare?

A

used in war to gain strategical or tactical advantage in battlefield
attacks armed forces of opposing countries
usually involves nation states

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5
Q

what is bioterrorism?

A

used against civilians
localised event
state sponsored or extremist groups

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6
Q

give examples of viral biothreat agents

A

smallpox
ebola
influenze
foot and mouth disease

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7
Q

give examples of bacterial biothreat agents

A

anthrax
plague
meliodosis

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8
Q

give examples of fungal biothreat agents

A

coccidomycosis
wheat stem rust
rice blast fungus

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9
Q

give some examples of toxin biothreat agents

A

botulism toxin

ricin toxin

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10
Q

why would influenze be considered a biothreat agent if it doesnt kill you?

A

when released over a population it can be incapacitating for several weeks

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11
Q

what is attractive about a biothreat agent?

A

spread of disease important (if infected individuals can transmit airborne diseases to others, must considered desired outcome and control of epidemic of disease, dont want it to spread further than the target)
potency

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12
Q

if smallpox has been eliminated due to vaccines, why is it on the list of bioweapons?

A

known stocks in USA and Russia. most likely other countries have stocks that arent disclosed

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13
Q

because smallpox has been eradicated, what risk does this pose to the population?

A

most people nowadays probably arent vaccinated against smallpox as the infection doesnt exist anymore

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14
Q

what bacterium causes plague?

A

Yersinia pestis

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15
Q

what is the natural plague classed as?

A

bubonic

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16
Q

what is the biowarfare plague classed as?

A

pneumonic plague

airborne route of infection therefore more fatal and faster acting than bubonic plague

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17
Q

give 4 properties of biological weapons

A

cheap
easy to produce
potent
difficult to attribute

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18
Q

why is it important for a biological weapon to be difficult to attribute?

A

make it harder for the victims to determine whether it is a natural outbreak or a deliberate attack eg influenza

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19
Q

how would a country determine a bioterrorism attack?

A

look for atypical patterns of emergence of disease

look for unusual outbreaks

20
Q

what did the UK establish in WWII in the fight against bioterrorism?

A

UK public health surveillance

21
Q

describe the production of bacteria as bioweapons

A

easy to grow in culture as all you need is growth media with nutrients

22
Q

describe the production of viruses as bioweapons

A

harder to produce than bacteria therefore less likely to be used as a bioweapon

23
Q

where would a terrorist group or nation state get hold of a microorganism to use it as a bioweapon?

A

prior to 1st iraq war you were able to purchase lots of pathogen culture collections
iraq got these from around the world
now regulated more tightly therefore harder to acquire these culture collections

24
Q

how was anthrax grown as a biowarfare agent in WWII in the UK?

A

large-scale batch cultivation
used medium consisting of marmite, molasses and simple salts
grown in milk churns
large volumes of spores could be grown this way

25
Q

what programme did the UK have during WWII for biowarfare?

A

offensive bioweapon programme

abandoned in late 1960s

26
Q

why was anthrax grown as an offensive bioweapon agent?

A

considered position of last resort

if all else failed and country was invaded, drop anthrax in Germany to kill livestock and debilitate country

27
Q

what is the main factor of bioweapons that would be most attractive to terrorist groups?

A

cheap to produce

28
Q

what are some of the most potent microorganisms that can be used a bioweapons?

A

plague bacteria
botuilin toxin
VX (nerve toxin)

29
Q

what is the potency of a microorganism dependent on?

A

infectious/toxic dose

airborne stability

30
Q

why is it important to consider the potency of a microorganism?

A

some are more infectious via different routes eg bubonic vs pneumonic plague

31
Q

what are the 2 factors to consider with airborne mircoorganisms?

A

how infectious and how stable they are in air

32
Q

what is the impact of UV radiation on airborne stability?

A

most die when exposed to sunlight

33
Q

what is the impact of rainfall on airborne stability?

A

washes bacteria out of the air

34
Q

what is the impact of temperature on airborne stability?

A

extreme temperatures could mean survival is compromised

35
Q

what is the impact of airborne chemicals on airborne stability?

A

pollutants/chemicals in the air are themselves microbicidal

36
Q

what factor is used to determine what microorganisms survive better in open air that others?

A

half life (some may have a shorter half life than others when released into the air)

37
Q

what is the airborne hazard?

A

in some situations microorganisms can survive for long periods of time in the air eg foot and mouth disease spreading from france, jersey, isle of white and then the UK

38
Q

how would you attribute a bioterrorism attack?

A

use genome sequencing to match the sequence against a database of different labs around the world

39
Q

what is a problem of using genome sequencing as a way of attributing a bioterrorism attack?

A

gives a population level picture of genetic makeup of bacteria
doesnt let you look for subtle differences in that population

40
Q

how would you look for subtle differences in strains to attribute bioterrorism attacks?

A

grow up the strains and look for spontaneous mutants, their morphology and their frequencies

41
Q

what are the 2 principle ways of controlling the problem?

A 
prohibition of weapon acquisition and production (stop people form getting hold of the microorganisms in the first place)
defensive capability (have physical ways of defending ourselves)
42
Q

what is the main issue with the biological weapons convention 1972?

A

a lot of people signed it but there is no way to police it

many countries refused inspection regimes

43
Q

what are some of the other contro measures for bioterrorism?

A

export control of pathogens, technologies and equipment
security of laboratories
vetting of staff
code of conduct for scientists/microbiologists
refusal to publish papers that aid weapons production

44
Q

what are some of the options for defensive capability?

A

detectors and identification equipment
vaccines for treatments for disease
respirators and protective clothing

45
Q

why are vaccinations for protection of bioweapons considered a ‘political hot potato’?

A

people may not want them
unlikely that they will be exposed to them
is it ethically right to immunise everyone despite unlikelihood of a bioterrorism attack?

46
Q

what does the furture of bioterrorism look like?

A

generally believed the potential for terrorist use will increase
BTWC is weak; no verification
attribution remains a key issue

microbiology (17 decks)

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