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Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism ( bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. It is meant to incapacitate or kill an adversary.

Biological warfare is a cause for concern because a successful attack could conceivably result in thousands, possibly even millions, of deaths and could cause severe disruptions to societies and economies.

History

The use of biological agents is not new, but before the 20th century, biological warfare took three main forms:

• deliberate poisoning of food and water with infectious material,
• use of microorganisms or toxins in a weapon system
• use of biologically inoculated fabrics

Biological warfare is believed to have been practiced in the Middle Ages, often by flinging victims of the Black Death over castle walls using catapults. Its use has also been documented in the French and Indian War when British troops distributed blankets infected by smallpox to Native Americans.

Use of such weapons was banned in international law by the Geneva Protocol of 1925. The 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention extended the ban to almost all production, storage and transport. It is, however, believed that since the signing of the convention the number of countries capable of producing such weapons has increased.

The military usefulness of biological warfare is extremely limited for state actors due to the fact that any biological attack would require several days to be effective allowing much time for massive retaliation. Most of the concern on biological warfare has therefore focused on bioterrorism by non-state actors.

Research carried out in Great Britain during World War II left a Scottish Island contaminated with anthrax for the next 48 years. Considerable research on the topic was performed by the United States, the Soviet Union, and probably other major nations throughout the Cold War era, though it is generally believed taht such weapons were never used. There have been reports that United States Army has been developing weapons-grade anthrax spores at a biological and chemical weapons facility in Utah at least since 1992. However, the United States had and maintains a stated policy of never using biological weapons under any circumstances.

Biological weapons characteristics

Ideal characteristics of biological weapons are low visibility, high potency, accessibility, and easy delivery.

Diseases most likely to be considered for use as biological weapons are contenders because of their lethality (if delivered efficiently), and robustness (making aerosol delivery feasible).

However, the primary difficulty in mounting a biological attack is not, however, the production of the biological agent but rather the delivery of the agent in a form in which it will infect large numbers of people. A mass attack using anthrax would, for example, require the creation of aerosol particles of a precise size. Too large and the aerosol would be filtered out by the respiratory system. Too small and the aerosol would be inhaled and exhaled. Moreover, to deliver the aerosol in a way that it would not be dispersed by the weather and to package the anthrax so that it would remain active are only two of the technological difficulties involved in mounting a biowarfare attack.

Biological weapons can be manufactured without much difficulty and in a relatively short time. Any biologist with an average education and a minimum of tools and space can manufacture these weapons without raising suspicions. Besides, the production of the weapon is far less dangerous than that of nuclear weapons. The dissemination of the agent can also be easily hidden.
In short, the main advantages of biological weapons are information availability, the restricted number of resources necessary to carry on the project, and the possibility to test the final agent.

Diseases likely to be considered for use as biological weapons include anthrax, ebola, pneumonic plague, cholera, tularemia, brucellosis, Q. fever, VEE, SEB and smallpox. Naturally-occuring toxins that might be used in weapons include ricin, botulism toxin, and mycotoxins.

Protection measures

Examples of biological warefare

Yellow Rain

In 1981, United States Secretary of State Alexander Haig claimed to have evidence that the Soviet Union and its allies had used chemical weapons in Laos, Kampuchea, and Afghanistan. There are critics who claim the evidence for these attacks isn't conclusive, but the US government has never retracted the accusation.

2001 anthrax attack

Numerous cases of anthrax broke out in the United States in the fall of 2001, caused deliberately. They may well be the first use of biological warfare since the signing of the convention, and possibly the first act of bioterrorism. They also gave rise to various efforts to usefully define biodefense and biosecurity in the context of active human-authored threats (previous, more limited definitions of biosafety had focused on unintentional or accidental impacts of agricultural and medical technologies).

See also Chemical warfare, asymmetric warfare, biosecurity

External links

• Naval Toxicology Manual
• Nerve Agents
• Potomac Institute Course Notes
• Survival-Mindset.com
• The Terrorist Threat, Parts I, II & III
• US Army Treatment Summary Sheet
• WHO: Health Aspects of Biological and Chemical Weapons
• Monterey Institute of International Studies article on the Yellow Rain controversy