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ROTE Project Ho. 1ll627Q6A5S3-TA3- 7
TECOM Project No. 3°CO-SJJ. f8T 023 0

OPG Document Ho. ....,Q,:.:PGt;:•:.,1,S::-4:::4...,SA,__ _ __

A!I EVALUATION OF ENTOMOLOGICAL WARFARE

AS A POTEIIHAL DANGER TO THE
UNITED STATES AIIO EUROPEA!l NATO NATIONS (U)

By

Wlllhm H. Rose

March 1981

U.S. ARMY DUGWAY

. PROVING GROUND
Dupay. Utah 84022

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·S lFIEO BY : Multiple Solll'ces OPG 81-41
EW ON: 31 March 1997
Copy 6~ of 69 Cop Ies
 UNCLASSlFIEI>

SECTION 7. COHCLUSIO!IS AND RECO!f<fND(O DEFENSJVE KEASURES

7. l COf<CtUSIOl<S
(U) Jnte1 11c,ence infonnatton gathered about the Warsaw Pact countries
fndfcates that tn t~.o past. thty h4v• attellPttd 4eveloPl'°'fnt of an £'W
capatiiity. tndtr-ect evidence. e.g •• mass re&rtng of potenttal fnsact
vecto~ and )('()fictng with Aicrobtolo9icaJ agents compatt b1e with EU
that are not a probltl'l'I in these countries, comprises the evidtnco
available to tndtcate present activity in this area. Tht ~arsaw Pact
nations certainly htve t he capabil i ty to cond11<t £W.
(U} The A, alf?'Jpti/yellow fever vil"Us system ts ast1m.ated to be the
most likely antiptrionntl £W systtm that could be used by th~ vars,~ Pact
countries against the United States or t ht European NATO nations. Foot
ar.d fflOVth dtsease vi rus t s a likely an1ea1 EV agtnt that could be •ffec·
tfve ly se>re,;d by .v. ~ , :ica.

(U ) tn the 111a9nitudt of t ht ci ty attack sce~arfO$ described in this

repor t, i.e., 15 si1n1al taneous attacks on urb4n areas, tht A. aqgy;:!/
yello-:,, fe ver Y1rus EMattack systta was tsttmated to be less cost effec~
t1ve t~an the r. ~t~~•i• aerosol mode of attack fn casualties produced.
but tt may be more cost effective whtn consid1r ing morta11t1es produced.
The A. Cf1¥Pt~/yel 1ow fever vtrvs ittact systen be<oate-S eore cost tffec-
tive in relati on to the;. :=c~is aerosol ,ttack mode if the magnitude
of tht attack btcomes saaller. and less tffe<tt ve whet! the aagnitude
becOff'.es greater. Tht A. a..grpri/yellow fever v1rvs EW attack systewn
also r.-quil"es less expertise to develop and employ than the P. ~~icU"en.($
• • .,.osol system

( U) (~ ,ysteos are not likely to lie t1011loye<1 on el llt.ary units

because the agent ve(tors must be .,..1eastd too close to the tanat t
arta. lh1s would make a covtf't attack o~ a •1l1 tary unit very difficult
to 4Chievt. E14 could be vt ry tfft<:ti vel.r ustd a9a1nst civilian ul"ban
populattoni or it could be ustd to cause great economic losses in the
cattle an<I 1 ivtstock Industry.
7.z RECO>ti£1tDEO DEFENSIVE HEASURES
(U) When an Ell att.ack on • ctty Is SUSP<Cted or wlten • large pOl)II•
latton of 110squi tots or othtr insects unexpectedly iPOtars tn an abnor•
ll\61 way, reactfon must be swift. tns,ct1c1dt spray operatfons should
be tnttitted as soon as oosstble. At t..._ seae ttat, tht 9entf'i l p0pu•
1at ton must be warntd by radto, television. arid newsp.aptrs. It the
insects are S10squtto1, tht Wf.rnin9 should 1ncludt advice to stay indoors
and t he ketp unscrttntd doors and wtndo\fs closed at all ti&tS. Those
who fflust ventur! outstdt should be 9rot1cttd as much as possible.
Suggestt'd prot,ttion sft.OUld Incl ude weartng mosquito netting over face

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UNCLASSIFIED
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C.5 Ol'EllATIOff MIIY OAY (lZ,17)
(U) Op1r1tion MAY OAY consisted of studies of~- cse-1,,! activity
and dtsperston tn an urban a!'ta (Savannah, Georgia} frun Apr il to
Nov...ber 1956.
(UI Th• tests were designed to 9ivt lnfonn,tlon on the dlsoersal
of A.. a.:1;':"tf fro. a grouni level potnt-source release tn a short
period of time. Results wtrt based prfmartly on mosquito reeo~ertes
obtained In dry•lce baited traps. In these tests a small fraction
(O.S percent to 7.7S percent) of the total nllftber of mosquitoes

16

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 SECT!o:< '· •ISIORY GF [:, .Ll.<10 risr_t•G ill. I!'!'.JIS (U)
4.1 OPERATION BIG ITCH (8,12)
(t,,) In 19S4 • series of trials wu conducud usin9 .:... ·--.::·i':-!!.1
ci..._·..'":·/,1 {fleas)
in £·14 01Ut1it1ons ..1th eardbOar<t ,no s~e tns.erts.
The ·1 0s1<ts were dropotd frQCI altitudes of JOS tnd 610 • over US Art11
Ougway Prov1n9 Ground (OPG), ~ta> to: (1) 1nvt1ttgat1 t>t suttabtltty
of the munition components for d1ssem1natton of thtse arthropod vectors;
(2) dtttmtne survtv41 and host &equisition abt11ty of J • .1:;.: ..·:.,fa
0,,,..,1,,.ted froa t"-•• 4evtc,s; i3) Plot carrttr Oltte<ns Produced by
E·l4 im.,nt tfons ftlltd with tht soec1al carrier~.
(U) The flets were successfully rtartd to the ,pproprtate sta9e,
then drooped on tht target ~ith little or no die-off. After release.
t~ instets were successful tn ac~trtn9 hosts but were f'IOt active
longer than 24 tw,urs. The sponge carrftrs wert the l!'IOSt w1dt1y d;strf•
buted, as fndfeated by c4rrltr p4tterns.
(U) ~o calculations of tffects were ettemoted in thfs report.
4.2 OPERATIO~ BIG 8UZZ (12,14)
(U) In May 195S a fitld test,,., conoucttd tn Georgia to (1) d...,n.
stratt the feasibtlfty of mass--orOductng, stortn9, lo1din9 into munt•
t1ons, •nd d1sseatnattng eosquttoes fraa atn:raft. and (2) to detena1nt
1f the mosquitoes w:>ul d sul"'lt~ tht afrdroo af'ld U1kt blood eeah froct
hunans.
h.:) More than ont 11111 ton uninfected...:.• .:~i·;:l were produced trd
stored tor nearly ttioO weeks. Abovt one thtrd ol' these 1110squ1toei wf't
placed In [•14 munitions (contalnt09 •atrcoab waffles" an<! "looP tubts")
and tn 0. 76"' rocktt-shaptd ground reluse munitions, and droPptd, uttt,•
out mortality, from aircraft. Tht rtflll1nlng mosQu1toes wtrt used 1n
Qunitfon loa.dtn9 tnd stor191 ttsts. Mo1quttoe1 were rel ..std fro:1 E·l4
aunitfons when thtY were 91 • above tht ground. TM eosq1i1ttoes were
dhpentd by tM wlfld an<! t"-1• ..., fll9ht and were collected as far
as 610 a d°"""ind fr<ro the target release sttt, The femalt 110sq.,ltots
.e,- ,ettve fn seeking blood meals from h1.1111n1 &nd gutnea 019s.
( . J OPERATIOlt DROP KICK (lZ,15)
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 ~,CTIO!I 3. :·:TrLLIG!:lC[ !~FOR:'1ATH)).LlJ!l.

(U) Stnce 'llc1·ld llar 1J uveral reports have fnd1cated the Soll'tet
Union has an tnter est tn EW.
3.1
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(U) The prisoners. reporiedly tn chafns.

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w-ert placed tn an etght•

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man ttnt wh1c h ha:J a number o~ pla9ue-inftcted rats and fleas under
wtre nets on the floor. Most of the prfsoners developed bubonic plague
after being bitten by the fle1s. Graund squtrrels and other rodents
were reporttd to ~ave been used 1n sfffi11ar ,~periments and proved to bt
efficient fntennedfary hosts. The escape of a prtsontr tnfected wfth
~ubontc plague st ~rted a great epidfmic among the Mongols 1n the sunmer
of 1941. Three to five thousana Mongols ~re reported to have died fn
th1i epidemic and were dtsposed of by burning or buryfng w1th d1sfnfte•
tants.
1
Ticks ware also reported to have bun used to transfer t1ck•
(" )
borne ence-pha11tfs to prtsontrs. tn •ddftfon. infected fleas and other
insect victors were dropped fr1»1 afrcraft tn paper contti1ners.
3.2 MASS PROOUCT!ON OF AE&!~ aECIPrr

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Table S. (U) Vartou, E,tlmotts of Cost per Death for••

F • ...- . . Aerosol Attack OIi • City.
Perctnt .._..,.r of Cost Ptr
Death> Otaths Otath (1976 S)
5 62,SOO 2.86
10 125,000 l,4l
20 250,000 0.72
lO 375,000 0.'8
40 500,000 0.36
50 625,000 0.29

THIS TA8l£ IS UNClASSIFIED

'sct•ptomyc1n, kanamyctn. ond chlo~•mphenlcol ar. •lao etftcttvo again.st

P. t~lafl01tl'il~ although so. . $train• ot F. e1it~na;j1 •r• re1i1t6nt co
•tropcoayctn.

8
ctty where attack personnel were cOn$id&rcd to be alret4y tn the US.
the costs are sun:martzed in Tablet.

Table 4. (U) Re$ourc:e Cost Sucrmary for an F. tutartnsts

Aen,sol Attack on• Cfty.

Item Cost (1976 S)

Planning S47
Agent Production 174,000
MJnitian Acquisition 1,435
weapon Employment 3,250
TOTAi.: 179,232
THIS TA8L£ IS UNCLASSrFl£0

----
1.5.3 Cost Comoarison Su1r111ary.
.l .• ··· -······· ._.- -
........ ..... ,, __ "' . ·-...

(U) The closeness of ag•nt and agent vector rtltast In these tvo types
of 4ttacks (610 m upwind of the tar91t •rea) would oreelude the ad~antage
of covertneu. Therefor,. parson.nt1 having access to prottctfvt 111.uh
during an~. ~uUD'Sneis aerosol attack would probably have the opportun•
ity to takt advantage of this aethod of protection.
·· ·=--...----... _,. .,..._ .-,,,-.•·-··-··-----..- ·-·· -------,

{b)(l) •••

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(U} It has been estfmattd that between !O •nd 90 percent of a
nonimmune popul1tton bitten by 1nf~cted yello~ ftvtr mosquitoes will
bee..,. fnf1cttd and 30 to 40 perc1nt of the vtcttms will dit (12). Thus
>50 percent of Uie perscnn&l fn the battalfon would lfk•ly be(O~e fnc1-
pacltated and a large number would dit.
-: .s.2 ~ity Attad:.
1 s z ! (U) Attack with Yellow Fever•Jnfected Mosquitoes. Tht cost of
att;ck1ng an urban area covtrtiy with :,tfiow fevtT"-1nfecttd aios<:uitots
-'tl estimated. tt. wH assUllltd the c~st of planntng a city 1tt1ck whh
ye11ollf ra•,tr•fnftcted ees<1uttoes fs cc-:=p.,r•blt with the cost of olanntn9
an terosol attack on Washington. DC (scenario 7 of reftrence 10}. tn
tht prtsent hypotheti cal attack. 16 st~ultaneous 4tt1cks were planntd
4t • total planni ng cost or S8 ,750. ~he cost of one attack would be
$$47 .00 (SB.750 , 16) .
(U) Agtnt product1:n would fnvol vt producfn9 225.000 yellow ftvtr-
t ntected female .t • .;.q.;·.~·:-: . lhh is tlte same nuab,r used in tht hYPO·
thttical battalion attack so t~e cost vould be t~t s1me ($9.066).
(U) ~unftion tcquisit1on was es tfeated to bt SS00.00 and wta~n
employment {truck rent1l and wa9ts of two st':!lf•skfl l td oe,ople for el9ht
hours) was estimated to be SJ60 .00. ~hest costs ar e summarfzed in Table
J.

Table l. (U) Rtsourct Cost Su""'4ry for• Yellow Fev•r·

Infected Hosqu;to Attack on• Ctty.

Cost (1976 S)
Pl&Mlng 547
Agtnt Production 9,066
lllnition AcQJlsttton soo
lle1Pon (llll'loymont 360

TOTAL: 10,473

THIS TABLE IS UNtLA_ll!f.l.U.. •• -----'1

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(U) lbt costs of agtftt Drctductton. •llflitton acquisition. 1nd ~POn
tmployment wart also taken from scenario 7 of rtftrtnce 10. Th« ont
exception to thts was for wtaPOn emplo.)"8tnt. Scenario 7 tncluded the
travel and ptr dt.. costs of toref~n a,ents tr1v.lln9 to !ht US to
conduct tht ,ti.ck. Jn the presently dtscrtbtd scenario. p,op11 to
conduct the 1ttact ....,. consfdt~d to be alre.dy in the us . 1h1s 81lkes
the costs eo111>arablt to those tor tht yellow ft~er mosquito tttact on•

5
 UNCLAS51f'lED
Table 1. (U) Resource Cost Sunm11ry for ant. :~:ar,nais
~rosol Attack on• 8att•llon.

Item Cost (1976 S)

Planning 8,750
A9,nt Prodvctton 10,000
Mu:nftfon Acquis1tfon 9,897
Weapon Employ,nent 5,700
TOTAl: 34,347

1.S.1,2 (U} Atlaek with Ye110'J Fevar lnfectfd Mosgy1tots. The cost of
attacktn9 • 1.5· .,.,.. area (bauahon) w1th yel ow lever .. ,nfected l:'.Ot.qui-
tots was tstfr:iattd. ~'he~ possible. costs of tQuipr.~nt wtro takon from.
1976 catalogues to make the cost eoq>arison with tht t~roso1 attack as
valid as pos,;ble. The feas1b111ty of area covtra~, ~ith n. C4:~~;:!
11'0SQu1toH was butd on the AvOfl Park. F1ortda IIOSQUitO trials dtScribed
in Stctlcn 4 (1 1,12). Approximately zz;,ooo Infected female A. ••P~P~
are requ11"fd for this hypothet1ctl atttct. Tht inosQuttots would be
released from a h<!llcopttr 610 n UpWlnd cf the target area. ra~I• Z
contains Ule resource cost s~ry for th1$ lttack. St:e T4ble 6 page
46 for tht Htimattd con of 1111Jni tton hell!$ for tht t . =:.t!c.r.1~at, attack
and T•ble 7 page 49 for the est1""1ttd eost of It..,, to raise 225,000
yellow fever inf~ted -osquitots.
Table 2, (U) Resour<t Cost Su11011ry for a Yellow Fever•
lnfeeted Hosqulto Attack on• Battalion .

Item Cost (1976 SJ

Ph Ming 8,750
Agtnt Pro.duc.tton 9,066
l!unltlon Acquisition Z, 150
Weapon Employment 6.700
TOTAl: 26,666

(Ul Tables I and 2 deo,cnstrate the prcl>lble.co,t differential

for an aerosol versus Ell 1tta.::t when constdertn9 a 91ven l1111fttd area
such as that occu~ted by a inec.han ized b1ttalf011 in the fte1d. In
actuality, .. EK attacJ: of this type on a r.111tary unit would prcllably
not be attempted beciu-se completo contro? of the afrways would be
necessary and the attack would not be covert. The s4,1:11 would be true
tor a oattio9tn aerosol attack at~Pted c~is close to t~e target ~rea.

UNCLASSIF1ED
 UNCLASSIFIED
•od neck tnd the use of aos~ito repellant. Long sl1eve Shirts wtth
gloves tightly fastened 1round the ...1sts should bt worn. Pints should
be fastened tightly around the ankles and two pairs of socks worn . tr.ts
should be worn to protect the tops of htads.
(U) wriere possfble. tnsect1cfde sprayfng shOuld be started tn
Individual d..o1 11ngs. In the event of an EW plague ••tack, people
should be assu~ that 1t ls treatable and in the event of pl19ue Sl!'OP·
t01111, antibiotic treatl'lent must not bt delayed. tf sufffcfent evtdence
fs 1vaflable thit a pla9ue flea tttact his oc:curred, and ff sufficient
antfbfotics are available, antibiotic tre.tment of flea-bitten indlvid·
uals might •ven be gfven before the IPPl'4rance of $.)fllptO'IIS.
(U) Panic is one of the 1110st important things to prevent 1n the
event of an EW attact on the general population. People n.,st be
assured that, ordinarily, the best procedure for thlffl to follow fs not
to flee tht area but to stay and receive proper treatment. or tf mos•
qultoes are the vector, to stay inside and stay protected ,

60

TTTITr.T.A!=:~i F IF.n