Biological Weapons : Hazardous And Inhumane

“Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Soviet Union and the United Kingdom were among many countries that investigated how to wage biological war.” (pg. 38) Some of these countries have biological weapons programs and even some biological weapons have been used in the past. A Russian program “known to the Soviets as “the Concern Bioreparat”, supposedly a series of laboratories and plants that manufactured vaccines and other medicinal products, was in fact a vast network of secret cities, production plants of Moscow’s germ effort. Bioreparat studied and perfected germs as weapons. President Richard Nixon’s administration became the “world’s leading advocate for a treaty banning germ warfare. Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention- prohibited the possession of deadly biological agents except for research…for vaccines, detection and protective gear. It was the world’s first treaty to ban an entire class of weapons.” (pg. 63) April 1979, an explosion at a secret military base near Soviet city of Sverdlovsk, sent a cloud of Bacillus anthracis fanning over a nearby village, leaving thousands dead. Although the Soviets, had signed the treaty, they denied allegations that this was “nothing more nefarious than tainted meat.” (pg. 77) During the Gulf War, for example, biological weapons developed by Iraq posed a threat and they might, if fact still pose a threat. While US went in search of nuclear

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

People will do almost anything to win or achieve their goals and that is sometimes a good thing. However, there have been instances where people have taken the idea to the extreme. So extreme that it was even banned at the end of World War 1 at the Geneva Convention. The topic is Biological Warfare. This type of warfare uses toxins or contagious agents instead of using guns and explosives. Toxins and agents such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. All of them are different things and have different effects but all have the same goal, and that is to disable or kill humans, animals, and plants to win the war. This warfare is cruel and inhumane and should never be used by anyone. If anyone did they should be punished severely. Why shouldn’t we use this? Well one example is World War 1.

Ira Baldwin was born in the state of Indiana in 1895. His youth was spent on a 40 acre farm that his family owned. Growing up on a farm gave Baldwin a unique perspective. He saw the devastation of what insects and pest could do to their crops. To pay his way through college, he did what many farmers’ sons would do. He sold ducks and husked corn in order to get the money he needed.

Smallpox virus vial is a debated issue and it is on top of the hot topics argued by the World Health Organization (WHO) over 25 years (WHO, 2011). In 1980 the WHO enounce the eradication, and thus they called for destruction of rest of vials of the virus (WHO, 2011). However, some people argued that with the smallpox there is still some studies need to be done and thus it is not valid yet. This has resulted in along debate that is expected to continue. Supporters claim that it should be destroyed because studies of the virus have been already completed and if not destroyed it can be used as a bioweapon. On the other hand, opponents claim that it is needed for the development of safer version of the vaccination.

In fact, the former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director James Woolsey has stated that creating a biological weapon is as easy as producing beer and that even a good chemistry high school student is capable of creating a biological weapon (Gerstein, 2010). Moreover, with the increase of natural viruses such as Ebola, terrorists could carry out a biological attack without the need of having to use any technology (Cenciarelli et al., 2015). They could simply travel to the country where a transmittable natural virus is occurring and they could get infected on purpose; then, all they have to do is travel back to their target location and intentionally spread the transmittable virus among large crowds of people (Cenciarelli et al.,

Before the 20th century, the use of biological agents took three major forms, Deliberate contamination of food and water with poisonous or contagious material using of microbes, biological toxins, animals, or plants (living or dead) in a weapon system, using of biologically inoculated fabrics and persons. Now a day sophisticated bacteriological and virological techniques allowed the production of significant stockpiles of weaponized bio-agents such as; Anthrax, Brucella, Tularemia, Smallpox, Viral hemorrhagic fevers, Botulinum, Ricin, (Legvold, 2012).The most likely route of dissemination is an aerosolized release of 1-5mm particles. Other methods of dissemination include oral, intentional contamination of food/water supply, percutaneous,

Another risk that emergency personnel will face when countering or responding to a terror attack is the risk of a chemical or biological hazard being present at the scene of the incident. Chemical and biological hazards can be a result of the materials used in the bombs or can be a result of a terrorist distributing biological agents, such as bacteria or viruses. According to an article by the Centers for Disease Control, the largest bioterror attack to occur in America was orchestrated by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in which he used salmonella typhimurium to infect food at local restaurants in an effort to influence an upcoming election, thus leading to numerous illnesses (Torok, et al., 1997). This attack could have been much worse had the attacker

This has made former terminal infections, like tetanus (Clostridium tetani) or Bubonic Plague (Yersinia pestis), relatively easy to treat nowadays. For the interest of public health and benefit, the use of bacteria has crept out of use on people with medical issues to our crops and animals, ensuring their health for our economic gain and medical security. With leading international and national health agencies like the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the combined efforts of the United Nations, the war on infectious disease has been made a top priority in keeping up with the nature of these illnesses in human, animal, and agricultural health.

The wars,battles and fights they will last not as long with the biological and chemical warfare. It would be quicker to end the argument but at what cost.A single life is priceless no matter who you are from the color of your skin to the color of your eyes life is priceless. Is it cheaper to buy these tiny dangerous creatures and toxic chemicals or guns? If it isn’t cheaper then stop buying them and buy more guns even explosives are better than chemicals. Some small changes like that can help us get rid of biological and chemical warfare.

Bioterrorism is a deliberate release of viruses in the enemy’s territory to cause terror in a community and make the people lose faith in their government. People have been doing this for a long time, people used to just hurl barrels of poisonous snakes at their enemies and they would also send dead bodies that have died from diseases and hope that it would spread, but now it is much more advanced. Scientists fear that enemies will be able to weaponize diseases such as smallpox and Ebola to use against us and since they usually mutate the diseases they will likely be even more deadly and more likely to kill more people. I feel that no one, not even America, should use diseases to get ahead in the war.

Anthrax is not your common disease. It does not cause a simple cough or a small upset stomach. It doesn’t pass in the air from human to human. It is a tedious almost undetectable disease that has plagued the lives of many. Anthrax has been a major factor in human history, although the disease doesn’t always hit the race first. Anthrax is mainly caused by herbivore’s that graze in infected land. The plagues that were written in Exodus may have been anthrax in domesticated animals followed by the disease spreading to humans. The disease that was described in Virgil’s Georgics was more than likely anthrax in domesticated and wild animals. During the 16th to the 18th centuries in Europe, anthrax was an extremely economically important disease that affected agriculture. So in short anthrax has been around for quite some time, but even today it imposes a threat to the human race because of it’s ability to be one of the most dangerous bioterrorist weapons used.

Imagine walking around the street feeling perfectly normal when suddenly, you begin to feel nauseous and start vomiting heavily. A trip to the ER determines that you have been infected with anthrax and only have a few days left to live. What would you do? Anthrax is a zoonotic disease which comes in three forms, is an effective tool used in biological warfare and is difficult to clinically diagnose. It is caused by Bacillus anthracis, a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. Infection of B. anthracis, is a virulent disease and has caused fatalities all around the world. In 1979, the deadliest anthrax outbreak killed about 64 people in a Russian town named Sverdlovsk (Reynolds, 2001). People were dying left and right and the cause of the disease was unknown. It was eventually discovered that the Soviet Union had violated the 1972 Biological Warfare Convention by producing anthrax spores.

Based on this week’s course material coupled with my assessment of the idea that terrorists are more likely to obtain and employ biological weapons as compared to nuclear weapons, I believe there is a good chance that a biological attack is much more feasible than a nuclear event. First, a gun style weapon producing a small and somewhat crude nuclear yield is relatively easy to make with sufficient amounts of fissile material, but the main problem is gaining the appropriate nuclear fuel. An example of this simplicity, the first bomb dropped over Hiroshima in 1945 known as “Little Boy” was not even tested because the designers were so confident in it (Nuclear Weapon Design, 1998, non-paginated). Regardless of this feature, the acquisition of approximately 50 kg of highly enriched Uranium is needed to produce a successful device (Nuclear Weapon Design, 1998, non-paginated). Since acquisition of sufficient quantities of highly enriched U-235 is

Given the difficulties to acquire and develop of biological weapons, the DHS likely saw the acquisition of the REBS as unnecessary. Obtaining a successful biological program is difficult as seen with past attempts by governments. Both the United States and Russia were two of the best equipped countries to develop such weaponry and devoted plentiful resources to their programs. Even with the large influx money, both countries encountered difficult hurdles (Parachini, 2001). If a terrorist organization were to obtain a biological weapon, the support of a state government would be needed. The multiple barriers needed to acquire biological weapons coupled with cheaper, more accessible options dissuades terrorists from perusing biological