This document provides an overview of biological disasters including definitions, causes, methods of dissemination, types of biological agents, impacts, prevention and mitigation measures, and action plans for management. It discusses bacteria, viruses, toxins, and examples of biological agents like anthrax, smallpox, plague, botulism, and tularemia. Causes of biological warfare are also examined. Dos and don'ts for before, during, and after a biological attack are outlined.
Definition
Biological Agents as Causes of Mass Destruction
Sources of Biological Agents
Types of Biological Agents
Epidemics
Bioterrorism
History : Major events across the globe
Impact of Biological Disaster
Prevention of Biological Disaster
Definition
Biological Agents as Causes of Mass Destruction
Sources of Biological Agents
Types of Biological Agents
Epidemics
Bioterrorism
History : Major events across the globe
Impact of Biological Disaster
Prevention of Biological Disaster
A chemical accident is the unintentional release of one or more hazardous substances which could harm human health or the environment. Chemical hazards are systems where chemical accidents could occur under certain circumstances. Such events include fires, explosions, leakages or releases of toxic or hazardous materials that can cause people illness, injury, disability or death.
A nuclear explosion is an explosion that occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from a high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion-based weapons have used a fission device to initiate fusion, and a pure fusion weapon remains a hypothetical device.
Man made disasters are hazards caused by human action or inaction. They are contrasted with natural hazards. Man made disasters may adversely affect humans, other organisms and ecosystems. The frequency and severity of hazards are key elements in some risk analysis methodologies.
The preparation of national guidelines for various types of disasters, both natural and man-made
constitutes an important component of the mandate entrusted to the National Disaster Management Authority under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. In recent years, biological disasters including bio terrorism have assumed serious dimensions as they pose a greater threat to health, environment and national security. The risks and vulnerabilities of our food chain and agricultural sector to agroterrorism,
which involves the deliberate introduction of plant or animal pathogens with the intent of undermining
socio-economic stability, are increasingly being viewed as a potential economic threat. The spectre of
pandemics engulfing our subcontinent and beyond poses new challenges to the skills and capacities of the
government and society. Consequently, the formulation of the national guidelines on the entire gamut of
biological disasters has been one of our key thrust areas with a view to build our resilience to respond
effectively to such emerging threats.
The intent of these guidelines is to develop a holistic, coordinated, proactive and technology driven
strategy for management of biological disasters through a culture of prevention, mitigation and preparedness
to generate a prompt and effective response in the event of an emergency. The document contains
comprehensive guidelines for preparedness activities, biosafety and biosecurity measures, capacity
development, specialised health care and laboratory facilities, strengthening of the existing legislative/
regulatory framework, mental health support, response, rehabilitation and recovery, etc. It specifically
lays down the approach for implementation of the guidelines by the central ministries/departments, states,
districts and other stakeholders, in a time bound manner.
A chemical accident is the unintentional release of one or more hazardous substances which could harm human health or the environment. Chemical hazards are systems where chemical accidents could occur under certain circumstances. Such events include fires, explosions, leakages or releases of toxic or hazardous materials that can cause people illness, injury, disability or death.
A nuclear explosion is an explosion that occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from a high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion-based weapons have used a fission device to initiate fusion, and a pure fusion weapon remains a hypothetical device.
Man made disasters are hazards caused by human action or inaction. They are contrasted with natural hazards. Man made disasters may adversely affect humans, other organisms and ecosystems. The frequency and severity of hazards are key elements in some risk analysis methodologies.
The preparation of national guidelines for various types of disasters, both natural and man-made
constitutes an important component of the mandate entrusted to the National Disaster Management Authority under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. In recent years, biological disasters including bio terrorism have assumed serious dimensions as they pose a greater threat to health, environment and national security. The risks and vulnerabilities of our food chain and agricultural sector to agroterrorism,
which involves the deliberate introduction of plant or animal pathogens with the intent of undermining
socio-economic stability, are increasingly being viewed as a potential economic threat. The spectre of
pandemics engulfing our subcontinent and beyond poses new challenges to the skills and capacities of the
government and society. Consequently, the formulation of the national guidelines on the entire gamut of
biological disasters has been one of our key thrust areas with a view to build our resilience to respond
effectively to such emerging threats.
The intent of these guidelines is to develop a holistic, coordinated, proactive and technology driven
strategy for management of biological disasters through a culture of prevention, mitigation and preparedness
to generate a prompt and effective response in the event of an emergency. The document contains
comprehensive guidelines for preparedness activities, biosafety and biosecurity measures, capacity
development, specialised health care and laboratory facilities, strengthening of the existing legislative/
regulatory framework, mental health support, response, rehabilitation and recovery, etc. It specifically
lays down the approach for implementation of the guidelines by the central ministries/departments, states,
districts and other stakeholders, in a time bound manner.
This presentation give a brief background about infection control, source of infection, what microorganisms need to grow and impact of infection on patients and healthcare system.
this ppt is made by shrikrishna kesharwani , student of urban planning,4th year, Manit , Bhopal,
in this ppt, I have discussed how to do pandemic or epidemic management in detail.,
Bioterrorism is using living organsims as weapons of mass destruction or to cause panic in population. it has existed since ancient times and yet pose a potential future threat. this compilation is not exhaustive and contains references at the end for further reading
Its all about Bio terrorism. Here i am trying to involve all content(maximum) those are available on online like ready.gov; CDC. i think it will cover all information that are need to know.
“Microbial forensics” has been defined as “a scientific discipline dedicated to analyzing evidence
from a bioterrorism act, biocrime, or inadvertent microorganism/toxin release for attribution
purposes” (Budowle et al., 2003). This emerging discipline is still in the early stages of
development and faces substantial scientific challenges to provide a robust suite of technologies
for identifying the source of a biological threat agent and attributing a biothreat act to a particular
person or group. The unlawful use of biological agents poses substantial dangers to individuals,
public health, the environment, the economies of nations, and global peace. It also is likely that
scientific, political, and media-based controversy will surround any investigation of the alleged
use of a biological agent, and can be expected to affect significantly the role that scientific
information or evidence can play. For these reasons, building awareness of and capacity in
microbial forensics can assist in our understanding of what may have occurred during a biothreat
event, and international collaborations that engage the broader scientific and policy-making
communities are likely to strengthen our microbial forensics capabilities. One goal would be to
create a shared technical understanding of the possibilities—and limitations—of the scientific
bases for microbial forensics analysis._ NCBI
This presentation focuses on a short history of bioterrorism, description, its advantages and disadvantages and organisms incorporated into weapons are also shown here.
Similar to A presentaion on biological disaster (20)
1. A PRESENTAION ON BIOLOGICAL
DISASTER
SUBMITTED TO:-
DR. MAHENDER CHOUDHARY
By:-
ANKITA SAXENA
2013PCD5321
2. CONTENTS
1. Definitions
Biological agents
Biological warfare/bio-terrorism
2. Causes and Methods of dissemination of biological agents
3. Types
Anthrax
Smallpox
Plague
Botulism
Tularemia
4. Impact
5. Prevention & Mitigation Measures
6. Action Plan for Biological Disaster Management in India: Early
Warning System and Dissemination
7. Dos and Don’ts
3. BIOLOGICAL AGENTS
Biological agents are living organisms or their toxic
products that can kill or incapacitate people, livestock, and
plants.
For example bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
4. BACTERIA
Bacteria are microscopic living organisms, usually one-celled, that can
be found everywhere. They can be dangerous, such as when they cause
infection, or beneficial, as in the process of fermentation (such as in
wine) and that of decomposition.
5. VIRUSES
virus, an infectious agent of small size and simple composition that can
multiply only in living cells of animals, plants, or bacteria. The name is
from a Latin word meaning “slimy liquid” or “poison.”
6. TOXINS
A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living
cells or organisms and is capable of causing disease when introduced
into the body tissues but is often also capable of inducing neutralizing
antibodies or antitoxins.
7. BIOLOGICAL WARFARE/BIO TERRORISM
Bio-terrorism can be defined as the use of biological
agents to cause death, disability or damage mainly to
human beings.
Bio-terrorism is a method of terrorist activity to prevail
mass panic and slow mass casualties.
For example :
Japan used plague bacilli in China during 1932-1945
causing 260,000 Deaths.
Dispersal of anthrax spores due to accident in production
unit in USSR(UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST
REPUBLICS) caused 68 deaths in 1979.
8. CAUSES
There are number of causes why biological weapons are potentially more
powerful agents to mass casualties leading to civil disruptions. To attract
widespread attention and to harm a selected target, these outfits can
utilize possibly any biological material, which fulfils some of the criteria
of bio-weapons.
9. Biological agents can be disseminated with readily available
technology . Common agricultural spray devices can be adopted to
disseminate biological pathogens of the proper particle size to cause
infection in human population over great distances.
The perpetrators can use natural weather conditions, such as wind and
temperature inversions as well as existing building infrastructures (e.g.
ventilation system) or air movement related to transportation (e.g.
subway cars passing through tunnels) to disseminate these agents and
thus to infect or intoxicate a large number of people.
The expense of producing biological weapons is far less than that of
other weapon systems.
10. THE METHOD OF BIO-AGENTS
DISSEMINATION AND DELIVERY
TECHNIQUES INCLUDE:
•Aerosols - biological agents are dispersed into the air, forming a
fine mist that may drift for miles. Inhaling the agent may cause
epidemic diseases in human beings or animals.
• Animals – some diseases are spread by insects and animals,
such as fleas, mice, flies, mosquitoes, and livestock.
• Food and water contamination - some pathogenic organisms
and toxins may persist in food and water supplies. Most microbes
can be killed, and toxins deactivated, by cooking food and boiling
water , but some require longer.
• Person-to-person - spread of a few infectious agents is also
possible. Humans have been the source of infection for smallpox,
plague, and the Lassa viruses.
11. TYPES
There are various categories of biological agents potential enough to
cause mass casualties.
1.Anthrax
2.Smallpox
3.Plague
4.Botulism
5.Tularemia
12. ANTHRAX
1)Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped
bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis.
2)Anthrax can be found naturally in soil and commonly affects domestic
and wild animals around the world. Although it is rare, people can get
sick with anthrax if they come in contact with infected animals or
contaminated animal products.
3)Contact with anthrax can cause severe illness in both humans and
animals. Anthrax is not contagious, which means you can’t catch it like
the cold or flu.
13.
14. SMALLPOX
What is smallpox?
Smallpox is a very serious illness caused by a virus called the
variola (say: vair-ee-OH-luh) virus. Smallpox gets its name from the
pus-filled blisters (or pocks) that form during the illness .Although
people are concerned that the smallpox virus might be used as a weapon,
this would be difficult for anyone to do.
How is smallpox spread?
Smallpox is contagious. That means the virus can spread to others. It
spreads through tiny drops of an infected person's saliva (spit) when the
person coughs, talks, or sneezes. Smallpox usually passes from person to
person during close, face-to-face contact.
15. How is it diagnosed?
If someone does get smallpox, a doctor can recognize the disease
because it causes a special kind of rash. The rash shows up as blisters on
the skin that fill with fluid and crust over. This might sound like
chickenpox, but the blisters look different from the blisters that
chickenpox causes. The other symptoms of smallpox are like those of
many other less serious illnesses: fever, headache, backache, and feeling
tired.
16. Are there medicines to take for smallpox?
There are no pills that can treat smallpox, but scientists are doing
research to try to develop medicine for the disease. If someone does
become infected with the smallpox virus, getting the vaccine within a
few days of becoming infected can lessen the disease's symptoms.
17. PLAGUE
1)It is a disease that results from infection by non-motile, gram-negative
coccobacillus Yersinia pestis.
2)anthracis- person-to-person transmissibility and a lack
of spore production. Following the bite of an infected flea, plague bacilli
are carried via the lymphatic to the regional lymph nodes where they
multiply exponentially.
3)This is only weapon besides smallpox, which can cause devastation
beyond those persons who are initially infected. With modern air travel,
containing an out break of plague could be challenging.
4)A vaccine for plague does exist; however, it is no longer being
produced, and it does not demonstrate efficacy against infection by
aerosol.
18.
19. What Is Botulism?
Botulism can be caused by foods that were canned or preserved at home.
Maybe you've had fruits or vegetables that someone picked from the
garden in the summer and jarred so they could be eaten during the winter
months. These foods need to be cooked at very high temperatures to kill
the germs.
If not, bacteria called Clostridium botulinum could cause botulism in the
people who eat the food. You can't always see, smell, or taste these
bacteria, but they release a poison, also called a toxin. This toxin travels
through the blood to attach to the nerves that control muscles. From
several hours to a week after eating contaminated food, the person may
get sick.
20. What Does Botulism Do?
Botulism stops the muscles from working, so someone with botulism
needs medical care right away. As the toxin spreads, muscles become
weak all over. Many people feel queasy and maythrow up or have
diarrhea.Other symptoms can include:
• difficulty swallowing
• difficulty speaking
• droopy eyelids
• double or blurred vision
• trouble breathing
21. IMPACTS
Even a small-scale biological attack with a weapon grade agent on
an urban center could cause massive morbidity and mortality,
rapidly overwhelming the local medical capabilities.
For example, an aerosolized release of little as 100kg of anthrax
spores upwind of a metro city of a size of Washington D C has
been estimated to have the potential to cause up to three millions
of deaths.
22. PREVENTION AND MITIGATION
MEASURES: GENERAL MEASURES OF
PROTECTION
1. The general population should be educated and made aware of
the threats and risks associated with it.
2. Only cooked food and boiled/chlorinated/filtered water should be
consumed.
3. Insects and rodents control measures must be initiated
immediately.
4. An early accurate diagnosis is the key to manage casualties of
biological warfare.
5. Mass immunization programme in the suspected area has been
more vigorously followed up.
23. ACTION PLAN FOR BIOLOGICAL DISASTER IN
INDIA
Biological Disaster could arise from a source located either inside the
country or outside the country (warfare). Management of such a
situation could be dealt effectively only if there is a disaster plan well
integrated in the system and also there is mechanism of post disaster
evaluation.
24. Action plan has following elements:
One of the simplest & easy method to suspect is to take notice of a
situation during which more patients with similar ailments from a
particular locality start consulting health guide at village level,
(a) Constitution of a Crisis Management Structure
• Identification of Nodal Officers for Crisis Management at District,
State & Central Level.
• Identification of Focal points for control of epidemic at District,State
& Central Level.
• Constitution of advisory committees - Administrative and
Technical
• Preparation of contingecy plan including Standing Operating
Procedure at District, State & Central Level.
25. (b) System of Surveillance.
•System of information collection at District, State & Central
Level.
•System of data analysis
• System for flow of information from District to State and to Central
Level during crisis period.
• Establishment of control rooms at District, State & Central Level.
c) System of Epidemiological Investigation.
• System of field investigation
•System of active surveillance
• Arrangement for support facilities
26. (d) Confirmation of pathogens by laboratory set up.
• System of laboratory investigation at District, State & Central
Level.
• Quality Control of Laboratory Practices.
(e) Training to different level workers.
27. Pre impact stage of warning (Early Detection):
Early warning signals
Early identification of an outbreak of disease of international public
health .Some of the suggested early warning signals which must
command quick investigation by professionals may include followings:
• Sudden high mortality or morbidity following acute infection with
short
incubation period.
•Acute fever with haemorrhagic manifestations.
• Acute fever with altered sensorium and malaria in endemic areas.
28. • Occurrence of cases which are difficult to diagnose with available
clinical and laboratory support and their non-responsive to conventional
Therapies.
• Clustering of cases/deaths in time and space with high case fatality
Rate.
•Unusual clinical or laboratory presentations.
29. DO’S AND DON’T’S IN A BIOLOGICAL ATTACK
Before:
Children and older adults are particularly vulnerable to
biological agents. Ensure from a doctor/the nearest
hospital that all the required or suggested immunizations
are up to date.
30. During:
• In the event of a biological attack, Close the doors and windows when a
biological attack is imminent.
• Watch television, listen to radio, or check the Internet for official news
and information ,you should seek medical attention if you become ill.
• The first evidence of an attack may be when you notice symptoms of
the disease caused by exposure to an agent.
• Be suspicious of any symptoms you notice, but do not assume that any
illness is a result of the attack.
• Use common sense and practice good hygiene.
31. However, if you notice of an unusual and suspicious
substance nearby:
•Move away quickly.
•Cover your head and nose.
• Listen to the media for official instructions.
• Seek medical attention if you become sick.
If you are exposed to a biological agent:
• Ultra efficient filter masks can be used.
•Follow official instructions for disposal of contaminated items such as
bag and cloths.
•Take bath with soap and put on clean clothes.
•Seek medical assistance.
• If required and advised, stay away from others or even quarantined.
32. After:
• Pay close attention to all official warnings and instructions
on how to proceed.
• The delivery of medical services for a biological event may
be handled differently to respond to increased demand.
• The basic public health procedures and medical protocols for
handling exposure to biological agents are the same as for any
infectious disease.
•It is important for you to pay attention to official instructions
via radio, television, and emergency alert systems.