Bioterrorism and Biological

Warfare

The question is not if bio-terrorism will occur, but when and where.
U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays

BIOLOGICAL WARFARE
Biological warfare (BW)also
known as germ warfareis the use
of biological toxins or
infectious agents such as bacteria,
viruses, and fungi with the intent to
kill or incapacitate humans, animals
or plants as an act of war.

Biological Weapons
Consists of either living organisms that can
reproduce, such as bacteria, or viruses, or toxic
materials produced by living organisms, such as
toxins or physiologically active proteins or peptides.
Viruses Venezuelan Equine Enchephalitis (Very
Lethal)
Bacteria Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax)
Toxins Staphylococcal Enterotoxin and Botulinum
Toxin

Definition of Bio-terrorism
Bio-terrorism is the threat or use of
biological agents by individuals or
groups motivated by political, religious,
ecological, social, or for other
ideological objectives to instill fear or
cause illness or death in order to
achieve their objective.

Armies Have Used

Biological Warfare for
Millennia

HISTORY OF BIOLOGICAL
WARFARE
1346 -Siege of Kaffa; plague
1763- French and Indian War; smallpox
WW I- German program; anthrax,
glanders
1925 - Geneva protocol bans biological
weapons
WW II - Japanese program; anthrax,
plague,
cholera,
shigella

HISTORY OF BIOLOGICAL WARFARE (CONT.)

1941- George W. Merck named

U.S. civilian head of Chemical
Warfare Service later changed to
War ResearcService
1946 - U.S. announces its
involvement in bioweapons
research
1969 - Nixon eliminates offensive
biological warfare program

History of Biological Warfare (cont.)

1972 - Biological Weapons

Convention
1979 - Accidental release of B.
anthracis spores at bioweapon
research center, Sverdlovsk, U.S.S.R
1989-92 Scientists from the former
U.S.S.R. involved in biological
weapons research defect to the
West

Domestic Biological Terrorism

1984 Rajneesh cult members
contaminate salad bar with
Salmonella typhimurium in
Oregon
1992 Ricin attack planned by
Minnesota militia
2001 Anthrax releases in FL, DC,
NY, NJ

Who Has Biological

Weapons?

Algeria
Canada
China
Cuba
Egypt
Ethiopia
France
Germany
India
Iran
Iraq

Israel

S. Korea

Italy

Sudan

Japan

Syria

Libya

Taiwan

Myanmar

U.K

N. Korea

USA

Pakistan

Viet Nam

Former Soviet Union

Yugoslavia

South Africa

Advantages to Biological
Weapons

Low Cost
Easy to Grow
Easy to Distribute
Easy to Hide Production
Little is Required
Natural

ADVANTAGES
1. Biological warfare is efficiency.
Biological weapons are efficient as a matter of fact; a single gram of
biological warfare agents like botulinum toxin can kill millions of
individuals. Biological agents can be spread from one individual to
another and these can kill effectively and affect one country or even
the entire continent.
2. Cheap cost.
It would require higher cost if you opt to use regular nuclear and
chemical weapons.
3. Biological weapons are easy to make, use and store.
As long as you have a container for storage and knowledge on how to
prepare and make biological weapons you are on the go. Wearing
protective gears when preparing agents and weapons are necessary to
ensure your safety.

Why Use Biological

Weapons?
Effective and Cheap
- 1 gram Botulism can kill 10 million
people
- Purified Botulism is 3 million times
more
potent than our best chemical
weapon
- SCUB Missile filled with Bolulism
Toxin

Cost Comparison
To Affect 1 Square Kilometer of Area
-

Conventional Weapons
$2000
Nuclear Weapons
$ 800
Chemical Weapons
$ 600
Biological Weapons
$
1

Biologics are the Poor Mans

Atomic Bomb

Not Easily Detectable

They cannot be detected by x-rays,
dogs, and most devices, making them
easy to transport.
Infected humans can serve as
transport devices.

Delayed Onset
Onset can be from a few hours to a
few weeks after exposure.
Perpetrators can have escaped by
then and have protected
themselves with vaccines.

Difficultie
s
Recognizi
ng a BW
Attack

Often mimic other things.

-Early Symptoms Similar
to Common Illnesses
Often requires large
numbers of infected
before an alarm is issued
- Take Time to Develop
Their Full Potential
-Can Lead to Widespread
Before the Problem, Agent
or Source is Recognized.

Only Affects Organisms

Infrastructure is left
intact

Why Now? Why Us?

Our American military superiority
presents a paradoxbecause our
potential adversaries know they
cant win in a conventional
challenge to the U.S. forces,
theyre much more likely to try
unconventional or asymmetrical
methods, such as biological or
chemical agents.

 Unpredictability
Disadvantages Long Lifespan
Dependence on
weather

Thank you

Now we have a problem.

The U.S.A. is suppose to
be one of the good guys
so who do we test on?

Three Choices
Test on the enemy.
Test on our friends.
Test on our own people.

Oklahoma 2003
The government dropped powder
over the Goldsby/Norman area to test
the possibility of using weather radar
to detect biological attacks from
aircraft.
And the rate of respiratory infections in
the area tripled over the next few
years.