Do you know about Bioweapons?

Bioweapons

Bioweapons as the name indicate “Bio” means “life/ living organisms or material obtained from them” and “weapon” means ” a thing used for killing or harming others”, so bioweapons mean to used living organisms like bacteria or viruses to kill or harm other living organisms like plants, animals, and humans.

History:

The history of bioweapons is not a new idea, in previous wars, archers contaminate their arrows in blood mixed with animal dung. Deceased animals are also used to contaminate water or by throwing poison-filled snakes in enemies’ areas. In the modern era anthrax, glanders, cholera, wheat fungus, and botulinum toxinare used as biological weapons.

Bioweapon agents:

They are of different types depends upon fatality, contagiousness, steadiness, and ability to be cured through medicine or vaccines. There are five groups of bioweapons agents. These are:

1. Bacteria:

Single-cell organisms, four types of Pathogenic Bacteria Used in Bioterrorism are anthrax, botulism, valley fever, and plague.

2. Rickettsiae:

It’s a genus of bacteria found in ticks, lice, fleas, and mammals. rickettsia organisms caused Typhus and Q fever.

3. Viruses:

Infectious agent, small parasite used as bioweapons causing diseases like Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, and Ebola fever.

4. Fungi:

Pathogenic fungi can be used as a weapon against crops causing smut in wheat, rust in cereal, and rice blast.

5. Toxins:

Any material poisonous to organisms can be used as a weapon like botulinum toxin can be lethal.

Deadliest Bioweapons:

They are:

Bacillus Anthracis (Anthrax)

Bacillus anthracis bacteria causes anthrax, is one of the most deadly biological weapon agents. It is classified as a Category A agent, causing a high risk to national security. It is found in soil naturally and can be produced in a lab. Anthrax as bioweapons mixed in powders, sprays, food, and water. Letters containing powder anthrax spores were mailed through IS postal system in 2001 intentionally affected 22 people of which five died.

Botulinum toxin

It is easy to produce and extremely lethal. It can be spread through aerosol or water and food contaminated supplies. Few amounts of Botulinum toxin can kill more than a million people if inhaled. Japanese infected war prisoners with botulinum toxins during the occupation of Manchuria. It can be found in forest soils, lakes, and intestinal tracts of some fish naturally. It causes muscle weakness, difficulty in speaking, and blurred vision.

Biological Weapons Convention (BWC):

In 2013 about 180 states including Taiwan signed BWC. According to the terms of BWC, states member are forbidden from using bioweapons. However, many states follow the cheapest biological war rather than expensive nuclear weapons.

Difference between bioweapons and other weapons:

In many ways bioweapons are different from other weapons:

1. Bioweapons take many weeks to appear which makes it difficult to precede and react.
2. Opposing to other mass destruction of weapons, bioweapon only attacks humans, crops, and animals.
3. Unlike other nuclear war, bioweapons doesn’t require a financial investment.