The use of biological weapons first started many years ago, it has been detected as far back as 10,000 BCE. Where hunters would use poisonous arrows to fired into the target. Biological agents were also used in World War I, by the Germans infecting the Allies horses and cattle with various microbes on both the western and eastern fronts ( ). Even though biological weapons were used for many years, it does not justify their used. Biological weapons can cause mass deaths, and they can widespread pandemics. A terrorist organization or country that want to cause injuries and death to civilian s might feel like they can justified their use of biological weapons, because they have five different categories of biological agents that they can
“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
To better elaborate, infections such as Syphilis, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, and the Spanish Flu are all forms of a Superbug (Palmer, 2010). Before Syphilis was given its name it was known as the French Disease, to some, and the Italian Disease, to others (Palmer, 2010). Syphilis is considered to be a Superbug because it silently infects its victims. Moving on Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever is an interesting form of a superbug, because it is actually contracted by a bug. Soviet scientists in the 1944’s were the first people to identify the sources of the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (Palmer, 2010). Finally, the most well known strain of the Spanish Flu was discovered in 1918, but what many individuals are not aware of is that this particular infection did not originate in Spain (Palmer, 2010). Unfortunately, there are new superbugs being brought to light, even today. To better explain, in 2010, the Indian Government began voicing their new concerns on the rising of superbugs in their nation (Palmer, 2010). However, the Indian Government is not the only government that has fears of new superbugs entering and infecting their
These biological agents could be viruses, toxins, bacteria, etc. Agents could be used in war or terrorist attacks. Also, they could be modified to cause extreme diseases and disorders, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It makes bioterrorism even more tempting to use as it is easy and inexpensive to produce, disseminate and can cause a more widespread panic than other acts of terrorism (1).
Chemical terrorism is the use of natural or synthetic substances such as mustard gas to kill a group of civilians (Freedmen 1). There is also such thing as bioterrorism. Bioterrorism is the use of a biological weapon against a civilian population such as smallpox and fungus (Hoyel 1). Chemical and biological terrorism is very dangerous because it intends to kill a lot of people at a time. Terrorists can get their hands on chemicals but it is much easier for them to get biologics (biological agents) because they are harder to detect and are cheaper to make.
Most of the technology that we take for granted today can be directly traced back to WWII. Extensive amounts of research was preformed during this era and for the first time war efforts were directly aimed at disrupting the enemy’s ability to preform research and develop new technologies. In modern day America we take antibiotics for granted and don’t really think twice about the history, or what life was like before them. In the early 1900s people could become very ill and in some cases die from things as simple as a splinter that become infected. When soldiers in WWI were being wounded on the battlefield the
Even though this should not have been a problem in the first place, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Conventions prevented any development on biological weapons. But. They were not given any power in which they could enforce this rule, so with this the Soviet Union took advantage of the system and started to secretly develop biological weapons. The Soviet Union developed new strains of virus’ and diseases that would not easy be counteracted with any current form of medicine. Meaning that anyone affected had a very low survival rate if they were to be used.
The 1995 Sarin subway attack in Tokyo and the Anthrax letters scare along with multiple attempts by terrorists both at home and abroad have illustrated the fact that terrorists are not objected to using chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction.
The Rajneeshee bioterrorism attack is the perfect example of terrorist or an extremist group taking matters in their own hands. It seems that the purpose and method of delivery was well thought out and was not irrational, Diseases have always been the enemy to man and animals, using viruses as weapons clearly presents a threat to the public and to national security.
In the last 60 years, the advancement of biological technology and easily attainable chemicals has led to an increase in chemical weaponry and biological pathogens. While nuclear and radiological attacks are more common, chemical attacks are brutally efficient and biological attacks can be engineered with new technology (Madsen, 2001). Chemical particles are able to disseminate through large areas quickly and efficiently, and in some cases, are not easily detectable until lethal doses are achieved. Unfortunately, not all of the pathogens that are considered dangerous are man-made as antibiotic resistant strains of common illnesses are
According to Powerpoint on Select Agents and Toxins in Module 2, a select agent is a biological agent that has the potential to pose a severe threat to animal health and safety, plant health and safety, or to the safety of animal or plant products. Biosecurity is a set of procedures intended to protect humans or animals against disease or harmful biological agents, according to Module 1, Biosecurity and the Importance of Invasive Species. According to the CDC video, "History of Bioterrorism" in Module 2, bioterrorism is the use of weapons of viruses, bacteria, and other germs for an attack. Ricin is a poison found naturally in beans (Select Agents and Toxins Module 2 Powerpoint). It prevents cells from making protein. If inhaled, it can cause
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.,
The most commonly used disease used as a weapon is Anthrax. Anthrax is a deadly disease that infects your skin and internal body organs. Anthrax can be caused by contact, inhalation and injection. Symptoms that are caused are skin blisters, fever, chest pain, shortage of breath, nausea and vomiting. 95% of cases are skin infections. Depending on the form of infection death can be as high as an 80% chance. Most common causes of infection are when animals eat infected plants and humans eat the infected animals . The deadliest bio weapon is Smallpox. Smallpox is an mass killing infection that has crazy symptoms and a high death rate. Symptoms include bumps all over the skin with a thick and opaque fluid often with a depression or dimple in the
There are many repercussions to not having a biological weapon. If we cannot reinstate chemical warfare, we will continue to lose many soldiers’ lives. Having chemical weapons is like when we came out with the UCAV. The UCAV stands for unmanned combat aerial vehicle. The UCAV got rid of the loss of lives in the air. It made bombing targets easier. With chemical weapons, we could eliminate thousands of war related deaths. If
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.
Gangs seize the Novichok and immediately deploy it onto the streets of New York, thereby killing a lot of people. Still hopeful of completing the sale, Darya steals back the bio-weapon and temporarily escapes to the Brooklyn Army Terminal (an ancient WW2 processing plant). A Russian cargo ship awaits her arrival. Terry and Raven track Darya to the warehouse terminal where their ultimate showdown to save the city begins. Raven transforms her own skin and bones into the very weapon she uses to skewer and finally kill