Essay, Research Paper: Biological Warfare

Biological Warfare

The history of Biological Warfare(BW), like most topics, can be divided into 3
parts: Early History, Modern History, and what we call "The Now." The early history
starts as far back as you can think and continues up to the start of the 20th century. The
first recorded use of biological agents is the Romans using dead animals to foul the
enemies water supply. This had the dual effects of decreasing enemy numbers and
lowering morale. The idea behind this kind of attack is that a weakened enemy is an easily
defeated enemy. The Tartars had the idea of infecting the enemy by catapulting bodies
infected with bubonic plague over the walls of the city of Kaffa. Some hist orians believe
that this event was the cause of the epidemic of plague that swept across medieval Europe
killing 25 million. A more 'recent' use of BW involves the British during the French-Indian
War. The Native Americans greatly outnumbered the British and were suspected of being
on the side of the French. As an "act of good will" the British give blankets to the Indians,
but the blankets came from a hospital that was treating smallpox victims and consequently
smallpox raged through the Native American community and reduced their numbers.
Biological weapons can be classified into Viruses, Bacteria, Rickettsia, biological
toxins, and then genetically altered organisms. The viruses typically investigated include
Ebola, Hanta Virus, and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis. I think that most of us know
that Ebola causes a hemmorrhagic fever. Hanta causes a fever with accompanying renal
complications and often respiratory problems. Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis is one of a
class of viruses that infects the central nervous system and often causes swelling of the
brain. All three of these viruses can be fatal.
Bacterial weapons can include Vibrio cholera (which can cause gastroenteritis
forcing fluid loss of up to 1 liter per hour), Yersinia pestis (causative agent of plague; also
causes a lung fever and swelling of the lymph nodes), Bacillus anthracis (causative agent
of anthrax), and many other less dramatic but still deadly species like Salmonella typhi and
Staphylococcus aureus.
Some dieses that can be used in BW are Coxiella burnetti which causes Q fever
and a chronic endocarditis, and Rickettsia prowasecki. Symptoms include fever and
disruption of the central nervous system. The two major toxins commonly associated with
BW are botulinum and Clostridium perfringens toxins. Gas gangrene is the disease most
commonly associated with Clostridium perfringens. It causes extremities to 'go necrotic'
by slowly suffocating them. The organism itself can also cause a necrotism of flesh.
There are four main advantages and three big disadvantages to BW. Probably the
biggest advantage is the killing efficiency of most biological weapons. It is estimated that 1
gram of toxin could kill 10 million people. A purified for m of botulinum toxin is
approximately 3 million times more potent than Sarin, a chemical nerve agent. As a
comparison, a SCUD missile filled with botulinum toxin could affect an area of 3700 sq.
km, an area 16X greater than could be affected with Sarin. Another advantage is the cost
effectiveness of biological weapons. To "affect" 1 sq. km it would cost approximately
$2000 using conventional weapons, $800 using nuclear weapons, $600 using chemical
weapons, and $1.00 using biologics. This fact has caused biological agents to be called a
"Poor Man's Atomic Bomb." Perhaps a more accurate term is "Lazy Man's Atomic Bomb"
because of the ease of production of most Biological weapons. Any nation with a
reasonably advanced pharmaceutical and medical industry has the ability of mass
producing biological weapons. This fact also leads to problems with determining what
countries have programs. The last advantage of BW takes advantage of the live nature of
these bugs. Anything from a piece of fruit to a ballistic missile could be used to deliver a
biological weapons to a target. Along with this is the fact that with certain organisms, only
a few particles would be needed to start an infection that could potentially cause an
epidemic. Conventional weapons explode once and are finished. With a few particles of
Hanta virus many thousands of people could become carriers that infect thousands more
people!!!
The disadvantages of BW are many, but a major consideration is the
unpredictability of its use. The weather is an important consideration, if one is worried
about their own troops. Gruinard Island is a prime example of how uncontrol led spread
can take place and we, measly little humans are helpless. Imagine what could happen on a
battlefield without borders of water? The lifespan is another major concern. These agents
are living creatures that have a chance of becoming a part of the local microflora. The
strategic futility this creates makes offensive use of BW impractical. If you spray an area
and kill enemy troops, how long is safe before your troops can follow up? There's really
no 100% way to be sure. The last major disadvantage BW has is the popularity associated
with its use. Imagine if you will a child, a child bleeding out of every posible place of their
body, bleeding not only blood, but their liquefied internal organs saturated with small
black particles of infectious Ebola virus. Now imagine a ruler of a country being accused
on international television of purposely causing this to happen for military gain. Do you
think they'll be popular for very long? I don't.
Becoming a biological terrorist might not be as hard as you think. One thing about
it is that it is incredibly easy to hide. Hiding a nuclear weapons program is rather
complicated (how many uses of Uranium-235 are there?) but hiding a molecular biology
research lab is easy. In just 30-60 minutes a lab could be cleared of all suspicious material
and look like any medical or pharmaceutical research lab. Along these same lines, the
equipment needed in legitimate and illegitimate labs is identical. No special supplies need
to be taken, with the exception of ultra safe working conditions. Another reason it's so
easy to hide is that it doesn't require much space. A seed culture of anthrax bacteria could
be grown to mass quantities in around 96 hours. The level of technology needed to do this
kind of work is also much lower when compared to Nuclear weapons. Most of the
techniques used can be found in textbooks and journals available worldwide, I have
already found some on the internet:






1.Select a source of protein you want a mass quantity of
2.Isolate and purify total RNA
3.Make a cDNA copy using Reverse Transcriptase
4.Amplify the cDNA using PCR
5.Clone the fragment by inserting into a plasmid and transforming an E. coli
6.Express protein and purify protein

This is very frighting and also is a nightmare, on the internet I found a site that told
you how to make a biolocal bomb, the instrustions you see. Since I am not to genetically
involed with this kinda stuff it makes no sense to me. But to the educated man or terroist
group who is extremly mad and wants revenge, this could be deadly recipe.

David Seyms