In 1984, members of the Rajneeshee, a Buddhist cult, created the biological agent salmonella and contaminated the salad bar at Shakey's Pizza in The Dalles, Ore. They also contaminated blue-cheese dressing, table-top coffee creamers and potato salads at 10 local restaurants and a supermarket. They poured it into a glass of water and handed it to a judge. They used the biological agent against the district attorney, a doctor, and a dentist. Their plan was to seize control of the county government by packing polling booths with imported homeless people while making local residents too sick to vote (Time 2001, para.1). That attack was a practice run for a massive attempt to incapacitate Oregon voters by slipping bacteria into the water supply (NY Daily News 2013, para. 18). Is this a biological agent a threat to our homeland today, or not?
A person infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps between 12 and 72 hours after infection. The illness normally lasts 4 to 7 days, and most individuals will
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One needs only to once again look to the Rajneeshee attack. The Rajneeshees grew the Salmonella organisms in a nutrient rich liquid media and placed it on food items on the salad bars. In this case relatively little had to be done to prepare the biological weapon other than grow it up and sprinkle it on the food (ATSU 2005, para.5). Whereas the number of dead may be small, or nonexistent, the fear the attack would create would likely be immense. The obvious ease and low overhead cost to produce this agent is alarming. A small facility with a hand full of people under the guidance of one trained individual could produce the enough Salmonella to infect hundreds as has already been proven. This example alone shows that the threat of this agent is clear and
What is Bioterrorism? What are the types of Bioterrorism? What issues or concerns should we be aware of when talking about Bioterrorism? How is Bioterrorism different from the United States and that of Guam? These are some of the things people would think of and wonder when they hear the word Bioterrorism. It’s important to know the different steps or precautions that a person can look into in order to prevent themselves from being a victim of Bioterrorism. First things first, Bioterrorism is defined as the intentional release of toxic biological agents to harm and terrorize civilians, in the name of a political or other cause. The history of Bioterrorism goes way back. According to the Terrorism Issues and Homeland Security, there have always been efforts to use germs and disease as weapons. The reported risk has led the U.S. government to expend immense resources for bio-defense in the early part of the 21st century. According to Right Diagnosis from health grades, there was a list of the different types of Bioterrorism and they are: Anthrax, Salmonella, Glanders, Melioidosis, and Smallpox.
After events such as 9/11, terrorism still instills fear into America’s population. Why? Simply because it is the one danger the American people cannot control. Biological terrorism is not always feared or worried about, but it is a genuine possibility and a lethal surprise that causes devastation. If not prepared, these deadly pathogens could easily kill large amounts of people. With tensions on the rise, what will the government or citizens do to defend themselves? If something happens, how will Americans be able to care for themselves and families? Bioterrorism is becoming a serious threat that needs to be eradicated to gain biosecurity and to ensure the safety of Americans.
Natural selection is the process in which heritable traits that make it more likely for organisms to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations. Each of us individuals is specifically shaped and formed by our own genetic pattern. We inherit this pattern half from are mother and half from are father. The cause of this is the proximate cause that led it’s phenotype to ultimate causes. Much of we know today about evolution derives from the late great pioneer, Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin was an english naturalist that even from an early age was very interested in outdoor pursuits. Early in his prep career his father tried sending him to the University of Edinburg to pursue his medical
Yes, it could happen. In the remainder of this paper, I will consider whether such an incident of catastrophic biological terrorism will occur, who is likely to perpetrate it, what agents they are likely to employ, to what end they may do so, and what technical capabilities will be required. I will focus on independantly motivated terrorism, as state-sponsorship lies beyond the scope of this paper and my research.
The attack in 1984 got hundreds sick and many went to the hospital but the actual threat to our homeland today is minimal. The CDC (2015) goes on to say that Salmonella is responsible for only a few hundred deaths while causing around a million illnesses every year. This statistic shows that it's not a viable option for terrorists looking
Salmonella is an important bacterial genus which causes one of the most common forms of food poisoning worldwide. Throughout history typhoid fever – caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi – triggered many dire outbreaks, and people eventually recognized the link between this disease and contaminated food or beverages.
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
poisoning it can cause a disease called Typhoid Fever, some common symptoms of typhoid fever
Bioterrorism is defined according to Centers of Disease Control & Prevention as “deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants” (CDC, 2007). Going into history, it can be said that bioterrorism is not a recent phenomenon, since it has been practiced as a war tactic in middle ages, many European wars and in the World Wars (Riedel 2004; Wheelis 2002).In the North American context, it is pertinent to mention about the Siege of Fort Pitt. A British commander by the name of Amherst, has been alleged to order distribution of blankets to Native Americans, which were previously contaminated by small pox patients(Riedel, 2004).It is also reported that many countries were involved in developing biological weapons program both in World War I
There have been many cases of bioterrorism, but one of the main cases occurred in 1984 in the United States. Some of the followers of a religious group wanted three seats in their local court. Worried that they might not win the seats, the followers decided to use Salmonella to incapacitate the voting population, so they can win the seats. It was inserted into salads at a very popular salad bar in the area. 751 people were infected in this attack, but no one died (Wikipedia, 2016). Terrorists can now use the simplest of things to get to us, but the source of it is the virus. Lawrence showed us how a genetically-modified measles virus, originally designed as a cure for cancer, turned into a virus and nearly wiped out the worldwide population. But, what if this was done on purpose? When comparing the number of cancer patients to the American population, the cancer patients take up less than 1% of the whole population. However, measles is contagious, so the real percentage of those who would be affected would be higher than 1% (American Cancer Society, 2016). So, if this “cure” was made with the intention of wiping out a population, this would have been a great success to
Imagine this: you wake up hours before your alarm sounds to find your entire neighborhood in chaos; people running, robbing banks and stores, and bodies are littering the once calm streets. Over the night, a government-run biological experiment dealing with germ weapons had been released, infecting, destroying, and causing panic across the globe. As a single, globalized society, we need to heighten our security against biological weapons and biological terror to prevent the endangerment of mankind. It would be most beneficial to our species if we did not try to use or experiment with biological weapons, seeing as they are engineered specifically to create social, economic, governmental, military, and general fear and disruption. Bioterror
Honestly, the threat of a biological attack is very real. Take this threat back just twenty years ago with the Japanese Sarin Cult, that it was discovered that they had within their inventory of biological weapons Ebola and Anthrax (Wright, 2008). How they gain access to these deadly viruses is somewhat unknown, but still they were obtained. Currently, research organizations and laboratories that carry these viruses are monitored and the security around the faculties is very advanced. But the Ebola virus made its way from Africa to the United States, not too long ago and who is to say that that particular outbreak was not a “dress rehearsal” for an attack on a particular region?
However, for many people, the illness resolves without treatment and may not require any laboratory testing. It should be noted that typical salmonella infections usually last between four and seven days.
I have worked off and on in customer service, from 2000 until recently. Icashi, took orders, helped customers, find items, and filled out inventory.
Biosecurity as a definition, according to the textbook, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism Containing and Preventing Biological Threats, by Jeffrey R. Ryan, is the measures taken to help protect a nation’s food supply, as well as, agricultural resources from a biological terrorist attack (Ryan, 2016, p. 26). Similarly, the term Biodefense as a definition, according to the textbook Biosecurity and Bioterrorism Containing and Preventing Biological Threats, by Jeffrey R. Ryan, is a procedure designed, by a nation, to protect and improve biological defenses in the case of an attack (Ryan, 2016, p. 26). Why is bioterrorism such an extremely effective way to bring terror to divergent countries? Pursuing this further, most of the common biological agents found in pathogens are obtained from a natural environment (Ryan, 2016, p. 31). In fact, these “biological