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Biological warfare
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- 2. Also known asGERM WARFARE—is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with the intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants. BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS: also termed as "bio-weapons", "biological threat agents", or "bio-agents“; are bacterium, viruses, protozoan, parasite, or fungus that can be used as a weapon in biological warfare (BW). CATEGORY A: High priority agents; easily disseminated or transmitted from person to person, high mortality rates, potential for major public health impact CATEGORY B: 2nd highest priority ; moderately easy to disseminate, low mortality rates CATEGORY C: Emerging pathogens; could be engineered for mass dissemination in the future because of availability, potential for high morbidity and mortality rates
- 4. 12th century Romans poison water wellswith decomposing bodies 14th century Mongols use plague infected corpses, black death 18th century British use smallpox in North America World War I Germany uses anthrax, glanders, plague against Russia, French against Germany 2000s 6 terrorist arrested in England, were producing ricin toxin 1925 Geneva Protocol Prohibits use, 108 nations signed 1975 Biological Weapons Convention bans use, development & production World War II Exp on 3000 prisoners, secret BW Research Facility (unit 731) in china by Japanese
- 5. ANTHRAX (Bacillus anthracis): •Most likely organism to be used in a bio war as per experts, widely available • First used in military in WW1, killed 90% of untreated people • In 2001, 5 people died after handling letters containing anthrax, perpetrator remains unknown SMALLPOX: • British forces sent blankets infected with the disease and decimated Native Americans in 1763 • Eradicated worldwide in 1980, 2 labs (US & Russia) continue to store CHOLERA (Vibrio cholerae): • Spread majorly through water source • In WW2 Japanese Bio warfare Unit 731 infected Chinese wells with cholera-1 attack caused 10,000 deaths
- 6. PLAGUE (Y. Pestis): •Passed to humans through the bite of a flea that has fed on infected rodents • Killed one third of Europeans in 1300s, infected corpses were used as weapons • In WW2 ceramic bombs with infected fleas were dropped on Chinese cities RICE BLAST: • Fungus that destroys rice crops was tested on Japanese fields by the US in 1960s • Crop failure caused mass starvation EBOLAPOX: • Russia ran the Biopreparat program to combine earth’s deadliest viruses • Defector said they created the Ebolapox, combining the fatality of Ebola & rapid spread of smallpox RINDERPEST: • 40 countries keep stores of the cattle plague that can obliterate herds in 10 days • Outbreaks cause human starvation & likely contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire
- 7. WHY?? BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS: Effectiveand Cheap: Small amount is needed, 1gm can kill around 10 million people. Not easily detectable: Can’t be detected by using X-rays, dogs; even infected humans can serve as a carrier. Delayed Onset: From few hours to few weeks after exposure, enough time for the perpetrators to escape. Conventional Weapons: $2000 Nuclear Weapons: $800 Chemical Weapons: $600 Biological Weapons: $1 Cost incurred to affect 1 square kilometre of area in a WAR
- 8. Gene editing technology CRISPR (Clustered, Regularly Interspaced,Short Palindromic Repeat) Cheap and widely available DNA sequence is cut off and replaced with a new sequence or code that codes for a particular protein or characteristic With future generations of CRISPR-like technology and an advanced knowledge of genetics, there would be no theoretical end to the misery that could be caused. There's potential to create drug-resistant strains of diseases, for instance, or pesticide- protected bugs, capable of wiping out a country's staple crop.
- 9. Growing threatof bio warfare agents has led to the development of specific field tools that perform on-the-spot analysis and identification: Sandwich immunoassay, BioPen Mostly biological weapons are delivered as aerosols, so most effective defence will be a good protective mask equipped with filters capable of blocking bacteria, viruses and spores Protective over garments( boots and gloves) can be used to prevent contact of biological agents to open wounds and breaks in skin Developing of effective biological weapon sensors Using vaccines, anthrax and small pox vaccines Effective medical system USA’s BioWatch: Network of detectors across US to detect bio-agents and also stockpiles vaccines & medicines for biological threats WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN): Works for both biological warfare agents as well as other communicable diseases
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