3 Categories Of Biological Agents

Pathogens are everywhere. They are in people, animals, and the environment. Pathogens come in a wide variety. The types are fungal, bacterial, viral, and other parasites. All pathogens can be dangerous, but two of them are more dangerous. These two types that more dangerous are fungal and bacterial. While both fungal and bacterial pathogens cause illness, they differ in the way they are transmitted, the way they are treated, and the diseases they cause.

Modern-day advances have allowed scientists to develop methods to control pathogens. The more common methods include the use of antiseptics, antibiotics, and vaccines. By definition, antiseptics are chemicals used to kill pathogens. A few widespread antiseptics include soap, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. Antiseptics are primarily used for the external destruction of pathogens, while antibiotics and vaccines target internal pathogens. Nevertheless, there are and can be difficulties concerning the use of antibiotics. “As antibiotic use has become more common, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have evolved.” This resistance due to evolution is called antibiotic resistance. It results in the antibiotics having no effect whatsoever on the bacteria, rendering the antibiotics useless. When antibiotic resistance occurs, scientists must resume their search to create a new medicine to can kill the mutant bacteria.

A Superbug is a bacterium that can live in the human body and has the ability to withstand all forms of antibiotic medication. Superbugs are becoming increasingly significant in modern medicine as they are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotics were discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming (Walsh and McManus, 2000). This resulted in a huge movement forward in medical history and even greatened human life expectancy. Since then antibiotics have been widely used and abused, people began to treat everything with this ‘miracle’ drug. If antibiotics are continually used as bacteria grows exponentially more resistant to them then eventually society will fall back into an era without the readily

Bruce Ivins, other than his suicide when things homing on to him with the FBI, is the anthrax killer, exposing and estimated thirty thousand people to the deadly spores, killing five, leaving its illness with seventeen others. (Shactman) The problem with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism, also know as CBRN, is that, in threats where conventional explosives are not used, chemical, biological, and radiological threats are hard to detect and prevent, and after-the-fact, are, usually, impossible, expensive, or extensive in labor and use of high-tech, cutting-edge equipment, which is complicated and needs technical expertise, to make the clean-up take very long in chemical and radiological threats, and is nearly impossible to collect evidence for examination in a laboratory in chemical and biological threats if aerosolized or in a vapor form, which dissipates into the atmosphere, environment, and plants around it (Center For Excellence in Emergency

macroparasites. These also vary in size and shape, and also in the type of diseases they cause in

Entering human body is not easy. The bacteria and other harmful materials can enter human body either via food or cuts and injuries on the skin. However, there foreign agents are not always welcomed in the human body. There are immune cells that fight harmful agents. The immunity system in the human body identifies harmful microbes like bacteria, viruses, and others and provides defense to the body against these substances. There are antigens present in viruses, fungi, or bacteria and these antigens are normally proteins or toxins, chemicals, drugs, etc. that show the presence of foreign harmful agent. The immunity system of man identifies these antigens and fights the microbes producing them.

Smallpox is a highly infectious and fatal disease caused by the Variola virus. It causes extremely painful pustules to sprout across the entire body. Spread from human to human, it has since been eradicated from the world through the efforts of the World Health Organization. However, there is a distinct possibility that it may be reintroduced through bioterrorism. Biological weapons may cause another pandemic to erupt across the world and kill millions of individuals. Through constant vigilance and careful planning, mankind can prevent this scenario.

The mortality rates from anthrax vary, depending on exposure, and are approximately 20% for cutaneous anthrax without antibiotics and 25 - 75% for gastrointestinal anthrax; inhalation anthrax has a fatality rate that is 80% or higher and currently around 30% for injection anthrax. As evident in the table all age groups have to possibility of infection, there is a slightly higher infection rate for children under the age of one, possibly because their immune system is less developed and more

Chapter 12 caught my attention because it informs you how infections develop into humans and types of agents to stop the infection. Infection and pathogens are created by microorganisms that enter the body. Microorganisms that can cause this are bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. These microorganisms can enter through your nose, mouth or skin so it is recommended to always wash your hands and receive vaccinations. Antibiotics are not as effective like it was back in the days, because microorganisms learned to be resistant to it. There is antibacterial, antiviral and antituberculosis agents to control microorganisms. Antibacterial agents destroys microbes and prevent it from multiplying. Antituberculosis are agents that treat diseases that

This is a contagious bacterial disease that is transmitted through the air(respiratory) or by person-to-person contact, and is often accompanied by fever and delirium, headache, weakness, and cough. If not treated early enough, the recipient may go into septic shock and die. Antibiotics are effective in the treatment of this type of disease.

For millions of years’ bacteria have been surviving to their environments and been at war against other microorganism. This wars have lead them to creating an unstoppable arsenal of weapons they can use to survive. Unlike virus that need a host cell to survive, bacteria can survive anywhere since they can share their DNA with each other. This allows bacteria to survive in places like radioactive waste, zero oxygen environments, and even in absolute darkness. Unlike human beings who are born with a specific genetic code, bacteria have the capability of changing that code. Bacteria have three methods of evolving themselves in order to survive the harsh is of conditions. The three methods are called horizontal gene transfer. The first is Transformation, but some pathologists call it the “Funeral Grab”.

Bioterrorism has been on the forefront of consideration since the bombing of the twin towers in New York City, on September 11, 2001. Specifically smallpox a considered biological weapon may be used to cause mass destruction. The last naturally acquired case of smallpox in the world occurred in 1977, consequentially we have stopped vaccination and those under 30 have little immunity to smallpox (Ford, 2003). Initial symptoms include high fever, fatigue, head and backaches, death which may occur in up to 30% of cases and an incubation period in about 12 days (range: 7 to 17 days) following exposure (Ford, 2003). Military regard smallpox as a means for enemies to use an unconventional tactic to gain advantage having been used most likely

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed and created several regulations throughout the years. One of them is the regulation to establish a list of qualifying pathogens that may have the potential to propose or cause a great threat. According to the FDA, this proposed rule would implement a provision of the Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now of the FDA. This regulation would assist in reassuring the development of new antibacterial and antifungal drugs. Before the development of new drugs, the FDA must take into consideration the effect on public health due to drug- resistant organisms in humans. The purpose of this paper will be to discuss and highlight what this regulation truly means and the issues surrounding it.

There are three types of plague disease and each one of them has different symptoms. The first type of plague disease, the most popular type of disease, called Bubonic plague. According to Patient Care & Health Information in Mayo Clinic, its symptoms start to appear with less than 10 days after someone got bitten by an infected flea. The symptoms start with buboes, swollen lymph nodes, appear in some places in the body like neck, groin, or armpit. Also, buboes’ size is almost like a chicken egg size. A headache, muscle ache, chills and fever are the other sings of this type of disease (2015). The other type of plague disease is a result of plague bacteria multiplies in the blood which known as Septicemic plague. According to CDC, shock,

Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium. The most common victims of anthrax are warm-blooded animals, but it can also infect humans. Anthrax spores can be produced in a powdery form for biological warfare. When inhaled by humans, these particles cause respiratory failure and death within a week. Because anthrax is considered to be a potential agent for use in biological warfare, the Department of Defense (DOD), in 1998, announced it would begin a systematic vaccination of all U.S. military personnel. (DOD, 1998) Anthrax infection occurs in three forms: cutaneous (skin), inhalation, and gastrointestinal. B. anthracis spores can survive in the soil for many years and handling animal