Midterm Flashcards
When did the anthrax scare take place and the consequences?
2001; eighteen people infected, five died
Legislation after 9/11 created to defeat terrorists?
Patriot Act
Issue between research and bioweapons
Want to classify or withould research from potential terrorist groups but don’t want to limit research and innovation
What did the Patriot Act do in regards to biological agents?
criminalizes people with bio agents unless they are being used for medical purposes/research and prohibits restricted people from working with them
What analysis should be used before creating bioterrorism legislation and risks if it is not done?
Risk trade-off; diminish researchers’ willingness or ability to work with agents, prevent preparedness, risk transfer to developing countries
Four aspects of bioterrorism that can determine the threat?
Supply issues, demand issues, changes in terrorist organizations that make them harder to penetrate and stop, governments inadequate preparations to meet terrorist threat
Issues affecting the supply-side issue of bioterrorism
Pathogens may have been leaked to state sponsors of terrorism, issue of dual-use, naturally occurring biological agents, found in labs, equipment easy to come by, samples used to be sent to anyonewho asked
First bioterror attack in US
Rajneeshee cult, 1984; used salmonella to depress voter turnout and used at a restaurant in Oregon
1990 bioterror attack
Tamil Tigers, used chlorine gas
1995 bioterror attack
Aum Shinrikyo, Tokyo with liquid sarin gas; previously failed 10 times, killed 12
Two kinds of uncertainties in bioterrorism
Terrorists’ capabilites and intentions, impact of BW attacks
Factors influencing the probability of infection during a bioterror attack
if a group decides to use a bio agent, acquires an infectious agent in a usable form, disseminates successfully, person sensitive to dosage received, medical countermeasures not effective
Why is bioterror a dreaded risk?
involuntary exposure, unfamiliarity, invisibilty, don’t know if they are exposed, long term effects unknown
Four aspects of dread
disgust, horror of disease, loss of faith in ability of scientists to protect us, implications for risk analysis and policy
Policymakers problems in regards to access to biological agent
regulations governing access to pathogens too lax, information related to production of agents too loosely controlled
Biological Weapons Act of 1989
makes it illegal to develop/produce/acquire/retain andtransfer bio agents or toxins for use as a weapon; have to prove they will be used for a weapon
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
regulates the transfer of select agents that are acquired through self-disclosed transaction
Proposed policy recommendations to control access of pathogens and related information
improve surveillance systems for human, animal, and plant diseases by registering all individuals who work with agents and ban unregistered people; self-governance regime and an oversight board to assess potentially contentious research
Article I BWC
never produce, develop, stockpile biological agents or toxins that aren’t for peaceful purposes or weapons/equipment designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes
Article II BWC
each state has to destroy or divert peaceful purposes to protect populations and the environment, within nine months after the entry into force of the convention
Article III BWC
each party will not assist, encourage, or induce any state/groups to acquire any agents/toxins/weapons
Article IV BWC
each party will take measures to prohibit and prevent the development/production/stockpiling of agents/toxins/weapons under its jurisdiction or under its control anywhere
Article V BWC
parties agree to consult one another and cooperate to solve any problems
Article VI BWC
Parties that find other parties acting in breach lodges a complaint with the Security Council and cooperates with carrying out an investigation
Article VII BWC
Each party agrees to provide assistance to other parties
Article VIII BWC
This treaty doesn’t limit obligations from the 1925 agreement
Article X BWC
Parties can exchange equipment/materials/information for peaceful purposes and won’t avoid hampering economic or technological development of parties
Article XI BWC
any party can propose amendments and will be implemented if accepted by a majority
Article XII BWC
A conference of the parties will be held in Geneva to review operation of the Convention
Article XIII BWC
convention unlimited in duration and can withdraw if the convention jepoardizes interests of the country
Article XIV BWC
Convention open for signature and subject to ratification
Where are biotechnologies headed in the next 5-10 years?
pervasive industrial technology, industrialization and peer competition, dangers persist, empower national security
How can biotechnology empower national security?
Reduce time to develop drugs/vaccines, improved diagnostic tests, distribution of manufacturing that can reduce shortages
Biotechnology dangers?
Experienced scientists becoming a threat, ability to hurt agriculture
Examples of confidence building measures in theBWC
submit data for BSL-4 labs, exchange information onoutbreaks, share publications, promote contacts between scientists, share events, creation of national legislation, offensive or defensive research before 1946, facilites creating vaccines
What activities do parties to the BWC have to reveal?
prophlyaxis, studies on pathogencitiy, virulence, diagnostic techniques, aerobiology, detection, treatment, decontamination
Legislation created to promote production of countermeasures?
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)
How are viruses classifed?
by the hosts they prefer, the type of structure, how they reproduce, genetic material they possess, and diseases they cause
Virus size range
3200 bp to 800,000
Shapes of viruses
cylinders, round and studded, icosahedron
Characteristics of viruses?
not living organisms and rely on host for all functions including replication
What are bacteriophages?
viruses that infect bacteria that attach on the bug via receptor sites and pump genetic material into it
Two kinds of phages
virulent and temperate - genetic material gets copied along with host’s plasmid
lysis
increase in phages causing the host cell to burst open, releasing more phages
Several functions of viruses in animal cells
produce viral proteins that have a toxic effect on host cells, interfere with protein manufacture, create new cell structures to demolish the host cell, alter the surface of the host cell so that it will be attacked by the host’s own immune system, alter the host cell’s growth cycle and turn it into a cancer cell
