Secret Weapon - Biological Weapons

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Biological Weapons
The agents

Biological weapons contain living bacterial or viral organisms, or the toxins produced by them. The toxins are generally the most lethal and act the quickest, producing incapacitation or death within minutes or hours. Bacterial and viral pathogens require an incubation period of 24 hours to six weeks before the appearance of symptoms.

Bacterial agents include anthrax, meloidosis, pneumonic plague and glanders.
Viral agents include smallpox, yellow fever, equine encephalitis and influenza.
Toxins include botulinum toxin, ricin and mycotoxins.

The Centers for Disease Control has identified these six biological agents as the highest risk to national security:

Anthrax

Background: A government study estimated that about 200 pounds of anthrax released upwind of Washington, D.C., could kill up to 3 million people. The disease is not contagious. Effects: Early symptoms include fever, malaise, cough, respiratory distress. Shock and death can follow within 36 hours. Treatment: If given early enough, antibiotics can prevent exposed people from falling sick. The vaccine is reserved for military use.

Botulinum toxins

Background: The single most poisonous variety is typically food borne, but it also could be developed as an aerosol weapon. Effects: Initial symptoms, such as blurred vision and difficulty swallowing and speaking, take effect in 24 to 36 hours. The nerve toxin paralyzes muscles, leading to respiratory failure and death. Treatment: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintain the botulism anti-toxin supply.

Plague (pneumonic and bubonic)

Background: Nearly 19,000 cases of history's most feared contagious disease were reported worldwide between 1980 and 1994. Lethal cases in the U.S. are extremely rare. Effects: Symptoms occur within one to six days after inhaling the pneumonic form. High fever, cough and labored breathing lead to respiratory failure and death. Treatment: Rapid use of antibiotics can be effective. A vaccine is not currently being produced in the United States.

Smallpox

Background: This highly contagious disease killed more than 500 million people in the 20th century before vaccinations eradicated it in 1977. Vaccinations stopped in 1980. Effects: Early symptoms like fever, headache and nausea occur for about 12 days. A Chickenpox-like rash spreads across the body, hardening into blisters. One-third of victims die. Treatment: None, though it can be prevented. Only 12 million doses of vaccine remain to protect the uninfected, enough for one of every 23 Americans.

Tularemia

Background: The U.S. military studied this infectious organism as a weapon in the 1950s and 1960s. Effects: Fever, chills, headache and weakness occur in three to five days. Resulting inflammation and hemorrhaging of the airways can lead to death. Treatment: Without antibiotics, one-third of those infected die. The Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing a vaccine.

Viral hemorrhagic fevers

Background: The origin of Ebola, for example, is unknown, but it is probably transmitted to humans by animals. Effects: Fever, muscle aches and diarrhea occur in three to five days. Fluids hemorrhage out of tissues and orifices. Depending on the strain, 30 percent to 90 percent of victims die. Treatment: Some of these diseases respond to antiviral drugs, but those are in short supply.

Delivery

Under ideal weather conditions, a Scud warhead filled with botulinum could contaminate an area of 2,300 square miles. A similar warhead filled with the nerve agent sarin could contaminate 140 square miles. According to the United Nations, Iraq may have retained as many as 16 ballistic missiles with biological-delivery capability. Iraq may also have a modified aircraft drop tank (which could be attached to a fighter plane or remotely piloted aircraft) designed to spray up to 500 gallons of biological agents.

Targets

The main potential targets of biological weapons include troop concentrations, logistics centers, command and control posts, air bases, ports, key infrastructure installations (such as oil and power facilities and desalination plants) and civilian population centers. Biological warfare would be particularly useful against large ships that can withstand multiple conventional hits, such as U.S. aircraft carriers.

Effectiveness
Biological weapons are hundreds to thousands of times more lethal than chemical weapons. A few pounds of biological agents can be as devastating as thousands of tons of chemical agents. However, most biological agents must be inhaled or ingested in order to be effective, making them easier to defend against than chemical agents. Most biological agents degrade rapidly, but dry agents, such as anthrax, are persistent. Anthrax spores can remain in the soil in deadly form for decades.