Biochemical Warfare Essay

Biochemical weapons are a major factor in warfare in the upcoming years. These weapons are easy to make, efficient, and deadly which increases the threat even more if in the wrong hands. Biochemical weapons have been used in the past including World War 1, World War 2, Iran-Iraq War, and acts of terrorism. Many bacterial, viral agents and toxins can put public health in risk, in the case of biochemical attack. These pathogens, if used, will pose a huge dilemma with public health and can cost many casualties in the way of all the chaos caused by the attack.
First, There is a wide range of types of biochemical weapons. Biochemical weapons can be viruses, bacteria, and even toxins. One of the most common biological weapons include anthrax, a disease of humans and animals, instigated by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, a facultative, gram-negative, nonmotile, anaerobic, and spore creating organism. Another highly used biological weapon includes smallpox. The smallpox (variola) virus is the most considerable of the animal viruses. The virus particles are unusually shaped as bricks to ovoid and are indistinguishable from other viruses. The variola virus comprises of double-stranded DNA and has an intricate structure. Another toxin includes botulinum toxin. Botulinum toxin is one of the most deadly substances known to humanity; it is a neurotoxin generated from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The toxin interferes with neurotransmission of the brain, causing paralysis throughout the body. Botulinum is also used clinically, but is very unstable; more information is needed about the toxin in order to move further in advancements. In conclusion the variety of weapons is immense because of the natural substances that are converted into lethal threat.
There are three main routes of infection in which biochemical weapons can affect a person. One way is by aerosol, the suspension of a gas in a container, which can be infected in the air. The toxin is converted into