Bioterrorism: Germ Warfare

Bioterrorism Bioterrorism is a type of terrorism that deals with the intentional release of biological agents. It is also known as germ warfare (Medicine Net). Some common,well known biological agents are bacillus anthracis, variola major, and ricinus communis. These agents are better known as anthrax, smallpox, and ricin (Medicine Net). These are just three of the biological agents. Bioterrorism has been around since the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (Pbs.org). People back then would load diseased corpses onto catapults and launch them at their enemies. It was a common theory that the bad stench of the bodies is what got people sick and full of disease. During the American Revolution, it was thought that the British forced smallpox
onto civilians of Boston and Quebec. In World War I, the Germans would inject glanders and anthrax into livestock that their enemies would come into contact with. The Japanese killed about ten thousand people in World War II just by releasing biological agents. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, there was a bioterrorist attack. Terrorists sent letters with finely ground anthrax powder in them. As soon as the letters were opened, the powder was released (Pbs.org). Anthrax is an extremely rare but serious bacterial illness. It is spread by animal or insect bites or stings. Anthrax, when ill with it, can make you go into shock, give heavy breathing, and intestinal immflamation. There are antibiotics to treat this illness. The illness is short term because of these antibiotics. It will only last for a few weeks or even just days. “Anthrax is most common in agricultural regions of Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, central and southwestern Asia, southern and eastern Europe, and the Caribbean (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).” Smallpox is also extremely rare, but it is an eradicated virus. It used to be contagious, disfiguring, and often deadly. Smallpox is spread by blood, by saliva, by skin contact, and by airbourne respiratory droplets. Smallpox can cause the formation of a rash on a victim. Virus filled sores eventually scabbed over (Mayo Clinic). Ricin is a poison naturally found in castor beans. If the bean isn’t cooked right, then it could be deadly. Ricin can be a powder, a pellet, a mist, or dissolved into water or weak acid. This poison can become inactive in heat. The temperature has to exceed 176° Fahrenheit. Ricin stops protein activity, and without this, a human’s body slowly suffers and dies off (Ricin: Get the Facts About Symptoms and Treatments). The United States does have a defense for these attacks called biodefense.
Biodefense uses medical measures to help protect citizens from a bioterrorist attack (Medline Plus). Doctors and scientists from around the country have researched and studied the medical measures. These medical measures include medicine and vaccinations (Medline Plus). It also includes medical research and preparations to defend the people against these attacks. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease has conducted basic research about bioterrorism. This basic research is to better understand viruses, bacteria, and other infectious agents that can be a potential threat and be used by a terrorist (U.S. National Library of Medicine). Biodefense may be good, but it is not the only method of keeping people safe from bioterrorist
attacks. There is another method to help prevent these attacks. It is known as biosurveilliance, a process of gathering, integrating, interpreting, and communicating important info that might relate to disease activity, threats to humans, animals, or plants. Biosurveilliance ranges from advanced technological system utilizing complex algorithms to standard epidemiological practice. It is very important that local health officials have a pretty high awareness of biosurveilliance at a local, state, and federal level (Journal of Bioterrorism and Biodefense). Even with all of these methods of defense and prevention, bioterrorism is still a threat to the United States.
Quantities of the agent can go unnoticed and still be the cause of disease and death. The use of pathogens for a hostile purpose is a big concern with people today. Since the number of research facilities is growing, the chance of an accidental release goes up rapidly. Since the number of investigators with knowledge about these agents and how they work goes up, the chance that a corrupt scientist will release a biological agent goes up. Ever since the September 11 attacks, the United States has spent over $60 billion on biodefense. The United States has spent over $5 million on stockpiling drugs and vaccines that would help if an attack or accidental release happened (Combating Terrorism Center at West
Point). Bioterrorism might not be the biggest threat today, but it is still as dangerous as ever. It was dangerous when people were launching corpses out of catapults in the fourteenth century, and it was dangerous when terrorists sent letters with anthrax in the twenty-first century. The United States may have defenses and preventions, but there is still a chance that those methods fail and the country will have to deal with it another way. Biodefense and biosurveilliance are the only effective methods of stopping and preventing these biological attacks on the United States or anywhere in the world. Bioterrorism is a threat and it is not going away anytime soon.