"Terrorists do not see any thing but the target. They are ready to use any kind of warfare in reaching the objective. They are prepared to achieve the goal at any cost and terrorist activities may take innocent lives in thousands, peaceful environments of the societies and ethnic groups, ethical values and so on. We strongly believe that human beings have intelligence, the ability to comprehensively think and reason out happenings, whereas brutes have instinct, the ability to meet the biological needs."by Dr.K.K.D.S.Ranaweera
(February 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The term Biological Weapons became a fashionable jargon in recent time especially after the attack on US World Trade Centre. According to Reuters’s recent reports, several individuals victimised due to Anthrax were found in Florida but the cause was not yet detected. American investigators started looking into this dilemma as it may carry a series of consequences over against the humankind. Before we go into details of Biological Weapons and their destructive dimensions it is more appropriate to understand what the Biological Weapons are.
Biological weapons are any infectious agent such as a bacteria or virus when used intentionally to inflict harm upon others. This definition is often expanded to include biologically-derived toxins and poisons. According to an unclassified report of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Chemical and Biological Terrorism: Biological warfare agents include both living microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, rickettsia, viruses and fungi), and toxins (chemicals) produced by microorganisms, plants or animals.
Use of biological weapons in warfare or terrorism has a very long history. The Mankind against the Mankind throughout the history has been employing biological weapons and its applications are found unceasingly increasing. According to the first recorded use of biological weapons, Romans used dead animals to contaminate water sources of the enemies with the aim of killing opponents and lowering their moral. In the sixth century B.C., Assyrians applied rye ergot to poison enemy wells and Solon of Athens used the purgative herb hellebore (skunk cabbage) to poison the water supply during the siege of Krissa. In 1346 AD, plague broke out in the Tartar army during its siege of Kaffa (at present day Feodosiys in Crimea). In 1797, Napoleon attempted to infect the inhabitants of the besieged city of Mantua with swamp fever during his Italian campaign.
Use of biological warfare has a long history
Dr. Anton Dilger, a German-American physician, in 1915, established a small biological agent production facility at his home in Washington, DC. Dr. Dilger produced an estimated litre or more of liquid agent by using cultures of Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax) and Pseudomonas mallei (Glanders) provided by the Imperial German government. That agent was reported to use in infecting 3000 herds of horses, mules and cattle destined for the Allied forces in Europe. Several hundred military personnel were also reported to be affected by the same agent. Japanese military officials, in 1931, had attempted to poison their enemies by lacing fruit with cholera germs, but that "the investigators did not develop the disease". In 1942, the US programme on Biological Warfare was launched and it grew in size. Accordingly, in 1956, then the Soviet Union accused the US of using biological weapons in Korea. In 1966, a bacterial strain named Bacillus subtilis was released into the subway system of the New York City to study the adversity effects of using it. In 1992, Russian former President confirmed that Anthrax was used in Biological Warfare research studies but promised to terminate all the studies of that nature. Again an exceptional concern on biological weapons arose immediately after the terrorist attack on World Trade Tower last September.
A team of international reporters of investigative journalism uncovered the truth about biological weapons. They also pointed out as to how bio-warfare and bio-terrorism are rapidly becoming national and international evils. In this connection, several disclosures related to biological weapons project conducted by different countries allover the world are of significance to deliberate; How the CIA secretly built and tested a model of a Soviet-designed germ bomb. How a religious cult in Oregon in the 1980s sickened hundreds of Americans in a bio-terrorism attack that the government played down to avoid panic and copycat strikes, plans by the U.S. military in the 1960s to attack Cuba with germ weapons. How the Pentagon embarked on a secret effort to make a superbug. How the former Soviet Union produced biological weapons under a hidden programme and how the germs were tested on humans. How Moscow’s scientists made an untraceable germ that instructs the body to destroy itself. How the Pentagon attempted to improvise defences against Iraq’s biological weapons during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Many well-known microorganisms are used as Biological Weapons agents
According to reports a wide range of micro-organisms and toxins can be used as biological weapons agents. Majority of these agents is capable of causing mass destruction of the mankind. It is worth knowing some of these agents and their nature of evil.
According to recent information, a 7-month-old child has developed the skin form of anthrax. He is the youngest victim in a growing number of anthrax cases across the US. It means that the disease does not care of country’s powerfulness, age of victims and so on. Therefore it is worth understanding what anthrax is.
Bacteria causing Anthrax can form spores, which can either be eaten in contaminated meat, breathed in or simply infect the skin directly through human to animal contact. Anthrax spores are a silent, odourless, and invisible. Lager spores usually lodge in the throat and trachea (windpipe). In some parts of the world, this can be found in cattle or other hoofed mammals. The bacteria can produce toxins, which enters the blood stream and cause haemorrhaging (bleeding) and tissue decay. An infected patient cannot pass on the disease to other people.
There are three types of anthrax depending on where the infectious spore has contacted on the patient. The first, cutaneous anthrax, which produces a skin lesion and is rarely painful. This is the least serious compared with other two types. The second type is intestinal anthrax, caused by the consumption of contaminated meat. This type produces severe food-poisoning type symptoms, leading to fever and blood poisoning. It is frequently fatal. The third is respiratory anthrax, which is caused when spores are breathed in by the patient and lodge in the lungs.
Symptoms of anthrax normally develop within two days of exposure. Initially, symptoms of anthrax are similar to a simple flu, but respiratory symptoms rapidly worsen and the patient usually goes into some kind of shock between two and six days later. However, this disease is frequently fatal.
Curing of anthrax
Giving antibiotics to anthrax patients can cure the disease, particularly the cutaneous variety and the chances of cure are greatly reduced in case of intestinal or respiratory infection. Although, there is a vaccine against anthrax, it is not recommended except for those at high risk, such as meat industry workers.
As a precautionary step, gas masks can be used but their value against biological attack is still questionable. Even in laboratories, researchers protect themselves by wearing sealed body suits in preventing organisms from getting through. However, the success of a gas mask relies heavily on a perfect seal between mask and face, which is very difficult to achieve and any gaps and the organism could get through.
There are many other microorganisms having a great potential of being be biological weapons agents;
Cryptococcus neoformans - Cryptococc-osis, an illness of humans induced by a type of yeast Cryptococcus neoformans which affect the central nervous system causing subacute and chronic disease.
Clostridium botulinum - Botulism - An intoxication with the performed Botulinum toxin of Clostridium botulinum. Vomiting, constipation, ocular and pharyngeal paralysis can be resulted after 24-72 hours of intoxication.
Yersina pestis - Bubonic plague - A very contagious epidemic disease caused by a bacterium Yersina pestis (also called Black Death of the 14th Century) and spread by infected rats. The majority of cases develop a bubo in the regional lymph glands. The infection can be transferred to men and if the bacteria reach the lungs, symptoms like fever and delirium (an abnormal mental condition, which occurs in high fever) may appear. Untreated cases are always fatal and therefore antibiotics should be administered promptly.
Ebola virus. This virus causes one of the viral haemorrhagic (bleeding) fevers which is contagious and lethal. Symptoms of this disease include high fever, delirium, severe joint pains, bleeding from body orifices and convulsions leading to death.
Plasmodium spp. Malaria - A disease caused by sporozoa of the genus Plasmodium. It is characterised clinically by fever which is often periodic, varying degrees of anaemia, splenic enlargement and various syndromes. This disease can affect several organs including brain, liver and kidneys.
Vibrio cholerae - Cholera - An acute and often fatal infectious disease caused by a specific bacterial organism Vibrio cholerae. It is characterised by free-flowing watery diarrhoea, vomiting, muscle cramps, severe dehydration with so many other complications.
Salmonella typhi - Typhoid - Typhoid fever caused by a bacterial strain Salmonella typhi is characterised by fever, toxaemia, abdominal signs and symptoms leading to intestinal haemorrhage or perforation, enlargement of spleen etc.
Brucella spp.- Brucellosis (undulant fever)- A disease caused by bacteria strains Brucella spp.
Smallfox is a virus infection having a great tendency to spread. It is assumed that this virus has been eradicated from the world but in recent times, there are evidences pointing out accidental outbreaks from laboratories. The virus infects the body through the mucous membrane and later enters the blood stream. Haemorrhagic (bleeding) complications may be developed. The disease is toxic and fatal.
Arboviruses
Venezuelan equine encephalitis - This disease is commonly caused by arboviruses and reservoirs of this disease can be horses, mules or birds. It is somewhat similar to Japanese B encephalitis transmitted to humans by Culex mosquito. The disease severely affects the brain and spinal cord.
Dengue fever - An acute disease caused by a special group of arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. This disease can eventually cause complications like internal bleeding.
Chemicals produced by other living organisms can be used as Biological Weapons agents
Cobra venom is principally neurotoxic producing a selective neuromuscular block affecting mainly the muscles of eyes, tongue, throat and chest.
Aflatoxin produced by fungi species like Aspegillus flavus affects the liver severely. There are so many other toxins that can be used as biological weapons agents.
Some of these agents are highly lethal; others would serve mainly in an incapacitating role. Some authors have also speculated about the possible terrorist use of new, genetically-engineered agents. They could be designed for even very specific purposes like for attacking specific ethnic groups.
How dangerous Biological Weapons dangerous are?
Comparatively, chemical weapons despite their all horrors become less lethal as they are dispersed and diluted. In contrary, Biological Weapons are immensely destructive. In addition to being very lethal even in tiniest quantities of disease organisms, they can multiply into massive populations in the nature. They also can naturally mutate making the available protective measures powerless. Botulinum toxin has been described as 3 million times more potent than the chemical nerve agent sarin. Botulinum toxin annihilates by slow asphyxiation, as the cells of the victim’s breathing muscles die from within. Anthrax takes three excruciating days to destroy the membranes of the lungs and intestines. These very reasons appealed the warfare specialists to look into possible ways of using these agents as loathsome instruments of war and terror. These weapons are of mass destruction, intrinsically of terror and infinitely cruel.
Are biological agents have been produced in our societies?
It is difficult to discover comprehensive data on biological weapons production. However, it is clear that substantial amounts of biologically active weapons have been produced by various nations. A report points out biological weapons produced by the nation of Iraq: UNSCOM has discovered that Iraq produced 19,000 litres of botulinum, 8,400 litres of anthrax, 2,000 litres of aflatoxin and clostridium. In July 1995, Iraq has admitted that it had looked to build a biological warfare capability. In 1988, it had imported 39 tonnes of growth for agents eg. anthrax and botulinum. UNSCOM has destroyed much of the growth media, but it thinks as much as 17 tonnes is still unaccounted for.
Can we be defended from biological weapons?
Biological defence may be divided into the following categories: prevention, protection, detection, treatment, and decontamination.
Prevention : Prevention may take several forms. In the case of biological warfare, international disarmament and inspection regimes may deter production and dissemination of biological agents. Intelligence assets may indicate potential threats and allow for preventative action to be undertaken.
Vaccination programs may provide substantial protection against naturally-occurring agents. But some agents require several inoculations over an extended period before immunity is conferred. Yet there are no vaccinations for many biological agents. The most dangerous thing is that limited or no protection measures are available against genetically-engineered variants designed to defeat such vaccines.
Protection : Forms of protection against biological warfare agents are limited in capacity. Protective suits, clothing and filters may provide limited protection for short periods of time. However, the persistence of biological agents such as anthrax makes such protections mainly useful for military personnel and first responders. Anthrax can remain active and potentially lethal for at least 40 years.
Respirator or gas mask: Filters usually made of activated charcoal block even very minute particles (about one micron). Over-garments are also recommended to wear in preventing germs from contacting with wounds or skin injuries. In case of attack possibly with a biological weapon agent, it is best if the individuals are placed in a closed room which is insulated with plastic or non-permeable material and which is ventilated with filtered air. But unfortunately, we cannot afford to keep such rooms ready for emergency cases. Traditional disinfectants like formaldehyde can be used as effective surface sterilising agents. For some biological weapons agents like bacteria, antibiotic therapy can be started within a few hours of exposure but before symptoms appear.
Is there any thing that we can do in refusing biological weapons?
It has been reported that after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, technologies of nuclear weapons and other sophisticated warfare techniques were sold out to hands of several ethnic groups who are fundamentalists, fanatics or extremists. Most of them are not interested in recognising others’ well-being nor do they give any value to other ethnic groups. Terrorists do not see any thing but the target. They are ready to use any kind of warfare in reaching the objective. They are prepared to achieve the goal at any cost and terrorist activities may take innocent lives in thousands, peaceful environments of the societies and ethnic groups, ethical values and so on. We strongly believe that human beings have intelligence, the ability to comprehensively think and reason out happenings, whereas brutes have instinct, the ability to meet the biological needs. By looking at the activities what some individuals and terrorist groups are engaged in, one may think that humans tend to lose intelligence and instead acquire instinct. On the other hand, another can think that we may dishonour animals by making these individuals equal to brutes because beasts have their own but very benevolent principles incomparable to any other being. Bio terrorism can be one of very efficient ways of terrorist in near future.
This is high time where politicians, intelligentsia and other laymen should come together to voice against terrorism. We should give up all types of power struggles and come up with a harmonious forum for combating with the terrorism. It is a social responsibility of all governments, non-Governmental organisations, politicos and other institutions to give due thoughts in formulating an overall effort to cope up with bio-terrorism.
(February 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The term Biological Weapons became a fashionable jargon in recent time especially after the attack on US World Trade Centre. According to Reuters’s recent reports, several individuals victimised due to Anthrax were found in Florida but the cause was not yet detected. American investigators started looking into this dilemma as it may carry a series of consequences over against the humankind. Before we go into details of Biological Weapons and their destructive dimensions it is more appropriate to understand what the Biological Weapons are.
Biological weapons are any infectious agent such as a bacteria or virus when used intentionally to inflict harm upon others. This definition is often expanded to include biologically-derived toxins and poisons. According to an unclassified report of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Chemical and Biological Terrorism: Biological warfare agents include both living microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, rickettsia, viruses and fungi), and toxins (chemicals) produced by microorganisms, plants or animals.
Use of biological weapons in warfare or terrorism has a very long history. The Mankind against the Mankind throughout the history has been employing biological weapons and its applications are found unceasingly increasing. According to the first recorded use of biological weapons, Romans used dead animals to contaminate water sources of the enemies with the aim of killing opponents and lowering their moral. In the sixth century B.C., Assyrians applied rye ergot to poison enemy wells and Solon of Athens used the purgative herb hellebore (skunk cabbage) to poison the water supply during the siege of Krissa. In 1346 AD, plague broke out in the Tartar army during its siege of Kaffa (at present day Feodosiys in Crimea). In 1797, Napoleon attempted to infect the inhabitants of the besieged city of Mantua with swamp fever during his Italian campaign.
Use of biological warfare has a long history
Dr. Anton Dilger, a German-American physician, in 1915, established a small biological agent production facility at his home in Washington, DC. Dr. Dilger produced an estimated litre or more of liquid agent by using cultures of Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax) and Pseudomonas mallei (Glanders) provided by the Imperial German government. That agent was reported to use in infecting 3000 herds of horses, mules and cattle destined for the Allied forces in Europe. Several hundred military personnel were also reported to be affected by the same agent. Japanese military officials, in 1931, had attempted to poison their enemies by lacing fruit with cholera germs, but that "the investigators did not develop the disease". In 1942, the US programme on Biological Warfare was launched and it grew in size. Accordingly, in 1956, then the Soviet Union accused the US of using biological weapons in Korea. In 1966, a bacterial strain named Bacillus subtilis was released into the subway system of the New York City to study the adversity effects of using it. In 1992, Russian former President confirmed that Anthrax was used in Biological Warfare research studies but promised to terminate all the studies of that nature. Again an exceptional concern on biological weapons arose immediately after the terrorist attack on World Trade Tower last September.
A team of international reporters of investigative journalism uncovered the truth about biological weapons. They also pointed out as to how bio-warfare and bio-terrorism are rapidly becoming national and international evils. In this connection, several disclosures related to biological weapons project conducted by different countries allover the world are of significance to deliberate; How the CIA secretly built and tested a model of a Soviet-designed germ bomb. How a religious cult in Oregon in the 1980s sickened hundreds of Americans in a bio-terrorism attack that the government played down to avoid panic and copycat strikes, plans by the U.S. military in the 1960s to attack Cuba with germ weapons. How the Pentagon embarked on a secret effort to make a superbug. How the former Soviet Union produced biological weapons under a hidden programme and how the germs were tested on humans. How Moscow’s scientists made an untraceable germ that instructs the body to destroy itself. How the Pentagon attempted to improvise defences against Iraq’s biological weapons during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Many well-known microorganisms are used as Biological Weapons agents
According to reports a wide range of micro-organisms and toxins can be used as biological weapons agents. Majority of these agents is capable of causing mass destruction of the mankind. It is worth knowing some of these agents and their nature of evil.
According to recent information, a 7-month-old child has developed the skin form of anthrax. He is the youngest victim in a growing number of anthrax cases across the US. It means that the disease does not care of country’s powerfulness, age of victims and so on. Therefore it is worth understanding what anthrax is.
Bacteria causing Anthrax can form spores, which can either be eaten in contaminated meat, breathed in or simply infect the skin directly through human to animal contact. Anthrax spores are a silent, odourless, and invisible. Lager spores usually lodge in the throat and trachea (windpipe). In some parts of the world, this can be found in cattle or other hoofed mammals. The bacteria can produce toxins, which enters the blood stream and cause haemorrhaging (bleeding) and tissue decay. An infected patient cannot pass on the disease to other people.
There are three types of anthrax depending on where the infectious spore has contacted on the patient. The first, cutaneous anthrax, which produces a skin lesion and is rarely painful. This is the least serious compared with other two types. The second type is intestinal anthrax, caused by the consumption of contaminated meat. This type produces severe food-poisoning type symptoms, leading to fever and blood poisoning. It is frequently fatal. The third is respiratory anthrax, which is caused when spores are breathed in by the patient and lodge in the lungs.
Symptoms of anthrax normally develop within two days of exposure. Initially, symptoms of anthrax are similar to a simple flu, but respiratory symptoms rapidly worsen and the patient usually goes into some kind of shock between two and six days later. However, this disease is frequently fatal.
Curing of anthrax
Giving antibiotics to anthrax patients can cure the disease, particularly the cutaneous variety and the chances of cure are greatly reduced in case of intestinal or respiratory infection. Although, there is a vaccine against anthrax, it is not recommended except for those at high risk, such as meat industry workers.
As a precautionary step, gas masks can be used but their value against biological attack is still questionable. Even in laboratories, researchers protect themselves by wearing sealed body suits in preventing organisms from getting through. However, the success of a gas mask relies heavily on a perfect seal between mask and face, which is very difficult to achieve and any gaps and the organism could get through.
There are many other microorganisms having a great potential of being be biological weapons agents;
Cryptococcus neoformans - Cryptococc-osis, an illness of humans induced by a type of yeast Cryptococcus neoformans which affect the central nervous system causing subacute and chronic disease.
Clostridium botulinum - Botulism - An intoxication with the performed Botulinum toxin of Clostridium botulinum. Vomiting, constipation, ocular and pharyngeal paralysis can be resulted after 24-72 hours of intoxication.
Yersina pestis - Bubonic plague - A very contagious epidemic disease caused by a bacterium Yersina pestis (also called Black Death of the 14th Century) and spread by infected rats. The majority of cases develop a bubo in the regional lymph glands. The infection can be transferred to men and if the bacteria reach the lungs, symptoms like fever and delirium (an abnormal mental condition, which occurs in high fever) may appear. Untreated cases are always fatal and therefore antibiotics should be administered promptly.
Ebola virus. This virus causes one of the viral haemorrhagic (bleeding) fevers which is contagious and lethal. Symptoms of this disease include high fever, delirium, severe joint pains, bleeding from body orifices and convulsions leading to death.
Plasmodium spp. Malaria - A disease caused by sporozoa of the genus Plasmodium. It is characterised clinically by fever which is often periodic, varying degrees of anaemia, splenic enlargement and various syndromes. This disease can affect several organs including brain, liver and kidneys.
Vibrio cholerae - Cholera - An acute and often fatal infectious disease caused by a specific bacterial organism Vibrio cholerae. It is characterised by free-flowing watery diarrhoea, vomiting, muscle cramps, severe dehydration with so many other complications.
Salmonella typhi - Typhoid - Typhoid fever caused by a bacterial strain Salmonella typhi is characterised by fever, toxaemia, abdominal signs and symptoms leading to intestinal haemorrhage or perforation, enlargement of spleen etc.
Brucella spp.- Brucellosis (undulant fever)- A disease caused by bacteria strains Brucella spp.
Smallfox is a virus infection having a great tendency to spread. It is assumed that this virus has been eradicated from the world but in recent times, there are evidences pointing out accidental outbreaks from laboratories. The virus infects the body through the mucous membrane and later enters the blood stream. Haemorrhagic (bleeding) complications may be developed. The disease is toxic and fatal.
Arboviruses
Venezuelan equine encephalitis - This disease is commonly caused by arboviruses and reservoirs of this disease can be horses, mules or birds. It is somewhat similar to Japanese B encephalitis transmitted to humans by Culex mosquito. The disease severely affects the brain and spinal cord.
Dengue fever - An acute disease caused by a special group of arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. This disease can eventually cause complications like internal bleeding.
Chemicals produced by other living organisms can be used as Biological Weapons agents
Cobra venom is principally neurotoxic producing a selective neuromuscular block affecting mainly the muscles of eyes, tongue, throat and chest.
Aflatoxin produced by fungi species like Aspegillus flavus affects the liver severely. There are so many other toxins that can be used as biological weapons agents.
Some of these agents are highly lethal; others would serve mainly in an incapacitating role. Some authors have also speculated about the possible terrorist use of new, genetically-engineered agents. They could be designed for even very specific purposes like for attacking specific ethnic groups.
How dangerous Biological Weapons dangerous are?
Comparatively, chemical weapons despite their all horrors become less lethal as they are dispersed and diluted. In contrary, Biological Weapons are immensely destructive. In addition to being very lethal even in tiniest quantities of disease organisms, they can multiply into massive populations in the nature. They also can naturally mutate making the available protective measures powerless. Botulinum toxin has been described as 3 million times more potent than the chemical nerve agent sarin. Botulinum toxin annihilates by slow asphyxiation, as the cells of the victim’s breathing muscles die from within. Anthrax takes three excruciating days to destroy the membranes of the lungs and intestines. These very reasons appealed the warfare specialists to look into possible ways of using these agents as loathsome instruments of war and terror. These weapons are of mass destruction, intrinsically of terror and infinitely cruel.
Are biological agents have been produced in our societies?
It is difficult to discover comprehensive data on biological weapons production. However, it is clear that substantial amounts of biologically active weapons have been produced by various nations. A report points out biological weapons produced by the nation of Iraq: UNSCOM has discovered that Iraq produced 19,000 litres of botulinum, 8,400 litres of anthrax, 2,000 litres of aflatoxin and clostridium. In July 1995, Iraq has admitted that it had looked to build a biological warfare capability. In 1988, it had imported 39 tonnes of growth for agents eg. anthrax and botulinum. UNSCOM has destroyed much of the growth media, but it thinks as much as 17 tonnes is still unaccounted for.
Can we be defended from biological weapons?
Biological defence may be divided into the following categories: prevention, protection, detection, treatment, and decontamination.
Prevention : Prevention may take several forms. In the case of biological warfare, international disarmament and inspection regimes may deter production and dissemination of biological agents. Intelligence assets may indicate potential threats and allow for preventative action to be undertaken.
Vaccination programs may provide substantial protection against naturally-occurring agents. But some agents require several inoculations over an extended period before immunity is conferred. Yet there are no vaccinations for many biological agents. The most dangerous thing is that limited or no protection measures are available against genetically-engineered variants designed to defeat such vaccines.
Protection : Forms of protection against biological warfare agents are limited in capacity. Protective suits, clothing and filters may provide limited protection for short periods of time. However, the persistence of biological agents such as anthrax makes such protections mainly useful for military personnel and first responders. Anthrax can remain active and potentially lethal for at least 40 years.
Respirator or gas mask: Filters usually made of activated charcoal block even very minute particles (about one micron). Over-garments are also recommended to wear in preventing germs from contacting with wounds or skin injuries. In case of attack possibly with a biological weapon agent, it is best if the individuals are placed in a closed room which is insulated with plastic or non-permeable material and which is ventilated with filtered air. But unfortunately, we cannot afford to keep such rooms ready for emergency cases. Traditional disinfectants like formaldehyde can be used as effective surface sterilising agents. For some biological weapons agents like bacteria, antibiotic therapy can be started within a few hours of exposure but before symptoms appear.
Is there any thing that we can do in refusing biological weapons?
It has been reported that after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, technologies of nuclear weapons and other sophisticated warfare techniques were sold out to hands of several ethnic groups who are fundamentalists, fanatics or extremists. Most of them are not interested in recognising others’ well-being nor do they give any value to other ethnic groups. Terrorists do not see any thing but the target. They are ready to use any kind of warfare in reaching the objective. They are prepared to achieve the goal at any cost and terrorist activities may take innocent lives in thousands, peaceful environments of the societies and ethnic groups, ethical values and so on. We strongly believe that human beings have intelligence, the ability to comprehensively think and reason out happenings, whereas brutes have instinct, the ability to meet the biological needs. By looking at the activities what some individuals and terrorist groups are engaged in, one may think that humans tend to lose intelligence and instead acquire instinct. On the other hand, another can think that we may dishonour animals by making these individuals equal to brutes because beasts have their own but very benevolent principles incomparable to any other being. Bio terrorism can be one of very efficient ways of terrorist in near future.
This is high time where politicians, intelligentsia and other laymen should come together to voice against terrorism. We should give up all types of power struggles and come up with a harmonious forum for combating with the terrorism. It is a social responsibility of all governments, non-Governmental organisations, politicos and other institutions to give due thoughts in formulating an overall effort to cope up with bio-terrorism.
![](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2008/01/biological-weapons-looming-threat-of.html&media=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_otWn2PlEOdY/R6INykS7UkI/AAAAAAAAFNA/CVACspUrYac/s72-c/Lab1.jpg&description="Terrorists do not see any thing but the target. They are ready to use any kind of warfare in reaching the objective. They are prepared...){kind=link}
Post a Comment