mail. Five Americans were killed and 17 were sickened in what became the worst biological attacks in U.S. history (“Amerithrax or Anthrax Investigation”). Bioterrorism is defined as a criminal act against unsuspecting civilians and a threat to national security with the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or germs. An attack of bioterrorism is meant to cause illness or death by microorganisms that are found in nature, but they can be made more harmful because of an increased ability to cause
becoming more and more potentially catastrophic; bioterrorism is now almost unstoppable. With new technologies such as genetic engineering, pathology, and high tech electronics, an attack of bioterrorism could have a record breaking number of fatalities. The truth of the matter is that this is real and very dangerous. There are secret bioweapon research facilities all across the world being hidden right under our noses. The threat of bioterrorism against the USA is greatly increasing and going unnoticed;
Bioterrorism The term bioterrorism stands for a form of an unlawful use and intentional release of disease causing and harmful agents called biological agents. These agents include germs like bacteria and viruses. The bioterrorists in this field also use of other agents like chemical and nuclear bombs. Bioterrorism is also referred to as germ warfare. Many biological agents are found in the environment and the bioterrorists modify them making them more dangerous. These agents cause infections and
Bioterrorism “Drop the sword , for there is but one flesh to wound, and it is the one flesh of all humankind.” - Jonathan Lockwood Huie What is bioterrorism? Bioterrorism is an attack that involve by releasing bacteria, viruses and other harmful agents which can caused illness or death. Most of these agents can found in nature. Terrorist may used these biological agents as a weapon against their enemy in order to achieve their purposes. Because these agents is extremely difficult to detect and
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the deliberate release of biological agents to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. These agents are bacteria, viruses, and toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. These agents can be altered by the terrorist to increase their ability to cause harm, to make them resistant to any medicines, or to increase their ability to be spread around in the environment faster. Biological agents can be spread through the air, water
Presently anthrax is the most preferred biological agent is because we have no accurate detection capability. If an outbreak of anthrax were to occur it would probably happen in a form of an aerosol device of anthrax spores. The intentional bioterrorism outbreak would result in multiple cases of inhalation anthrax. If the outbreak was done by an aerosol can, there would be no indication of an attack because the United States, or anywhere else for that matter, does not have any appropriate method
Bioterrorism, in the last decade, has become a real threat to the world. Since the anthrax attacks on American soil in 2001, the world has become aware of the potential risk of an anthrax attack. Anthrax is the disease caused by the Bacillus anthracis bacteria. Ever since early history, anthrax has occurred in livestock animals and in humans. The bacteria prevent the macrophages from communicating with the rest of the body. Thus, the body cannot fend of anthrax and slowly organs begin to deteriorate
Is a terrorist group planning to attack your country with a biological weapon? Bioterrorism has grown in past years because of the price, effectiveness, and how easy it is to make that type of weapon. It is estimated that 17 countries have the technology to develop biological weapons (Kaufmann, Meltzer, and Schmid n.p.). Anthrax is a good example of a biological weapon because it causes spores that will cause death or severe pain. Most biological weapons can be classified as a virus or a disease
Bioterrorism is the terrorist act of manipulating natural components to sabotage an enemy. It has been around for thousands of years, but in different forms. To take a case in point, the article, “History of Bioterrorism,” states that the Assyrians poisoned the well of their enemies with rye ergot in the 6th Century B.C. More recent examples of bioterrorism include the anthrax inhalation from received mail in 2001 (Office of The Surgeon General). Although these are only recorded acts, there is a
with a cost: terrorism. On the basis of its most fundamental aspects, terrorism runs on the currency of fear (Zubay 1). In the modern context, terrorists have exploited the biological basis of the human race in order to forge the fatal idea of bioterrorism. The ultimate goal is to inject a note of fear within the general human population. Amongst the vast number of potential agents, ranging from viruses to biotoxins, a select few have noted abilities, particularly for their ease of dissemination
“How and why is it that I do not describe my method for remaining underwater and how long I can remain there without coming up for air? I do not wish to divulge or publish this because of the evil nature of men, who might use it for murder on the sea-bed.” – Leonardo Da Vinci [1]. The process of scientific publication, through which new discoveries are presented to the scientific community and public, is a vital element of the search for knowledge. The methodical approach latent within scientific
Fatal Dilemma: Using Clostridium botulinum as a Biological Weapon Ever since the dawn of biotechnology, the world had to face a new dilemma: bioterrorism. Using biological agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc., bioterrorism attack aims to cause illness of death in people, animals, or plants as a method of warfare. Used throughout history, biological weapon serves as a pivotal role in disarming an army. Botulism toxin, known for the most toxic substance in the biological world, has been
are the cooperation among countries, a country more unified, and the procurement of more facts about the attack by authorities, leading them to the improvement of bio-security protocols to prevent future attacks. A pivotal factor to fight back bioterrorism is the international cooperation (Rofrey). Every time something awful happens and in this case if a bioterrorist attack were to happen, countries would support each other, whether economically or by providing assistance in any other way; including
A 1995 medical thriller film with humor and action, Outbreak, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, depicts an extreme case of Motaba virus similar to Ebola and Lassa discovered in Africa that accidentally arrives in the US via an African monkey host (a carrier) from Zaire. In July of 1967, Motaba River Valley, Zaire, a deadly airborne virus attacked a mercenary camp. Motaba virus causes severe bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding in the nose and liquefies internal organs, killing within 3 days. Motaba
effective and deadly tactic of Bioterrorism, which is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other germs used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. As time passes, everything about bioterrorism becomes more and more sophisticated, making it very difficult to combat with. By examining the history of bioterrorism, one can learn how military forces utilize this deadly weapon. First we will discuss the first known utilization of bioterrorism, in the 6th Century BCE. The Assyrians
The germ warfare agent anthrax is a bacterium that, if inhaled, can kill a person in a matter of days. It sounds like science fiction, like something a mad scientist developed in a lab in hopes of taking over the world. In reality is an ancient disease of live stock and humans known since Biblical times. It just never made so many headlines before. Anthrax is an infectious disease known as Bacillus Anthracis. The bacterium can survive for centuries in a spore form. Their inside coating of armor allows
Bioterrorism: Smallpox Smallpox is a highly infectious and fatal disease caused by the Variola virus. It causes extremely painful pustules to sprout across the entire body. Spread from human to human, it has since been eradicated from the world through the efforts of the World Health Organization. However, there is a distinct possibility that it may be reintroduced through bioterrorism. Biological weapons may cause another pandemic to erupt across the world and kill millions of individuals. Through
In the “Merrian-Webster” dictionary, bioterrorism is defined as “terrorism involving the use of biological weapons.” In other words, an individual that uses living organisms to harm one or more individuals. These cases of bioterrorism may be intentional or accidental. Countries have used bioterrorism to affect other countries for power. Back in 2002, after the September 1, 2001, when two planes came crashing in the twin towers in New York and another one crashing into the pentagon in Washington D
from heart disease to the worst, infectious, disease-causing agents. The CDC also shares information about how to prepare and what to do if a bioterrorism attack or pandemic were to occur. The Center of Disease and Control is a diversified government organization that has the main purpose of protecting the public against the serious threats of bioterrorism and dangerous pandemics. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention performs studies to acquire information about the health and wellness of
methods to get there point across. One of the potential methods is bioterrorism. Bioterrorism is the act of terrorism involving the release of toxic biological agents, including bacteria, disease and viruses (Riedel, 2004). One recent incident was the “anthrax letters” in 2001 which killed 5 people and infected 17 people. These dangerous biological agents are not very hard to obtain, which is why there is a high risk of bioterrorism at the CDC. With just one terrorist working inside the CDC, can cause