Biological Warfare (Germ Warfare) the deliberate use of disease causing biological agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi

i or biological toxins to kill or incapacitate humans, animals and plants as an act of war. weapons(bio-weapons) carry living organisms or replicating entities that replicate within the host victims. May be employed in various ways to gain strategic or tactical advantage either by threat or actual deployment from which the agents are targetted against a single individual, a group of people or an entire population. it is also used as an area denial weapon(area infected with this bio agents so as to prevent an adversary from occupation). The use of this weapon clandestinely or secretly is a high profile among powerful nation-states. agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, even death. These organisms are ubiquitous in the natural environment; they are found in water, soil, plants, and animals. Bioterrorism is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, toxins or other harmful agents used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. These agents are typically found in nature, but it is possible that they could be mutated or altered to increase their ability to cause disease, make them resistant to current medicines, or to increase their ability to be spread into the environment. Biological agents can be spread through the air, water, or in food. Terrorists tend to use biological agents because they are extremely difficult to detect and do not cause illness for several hours to several days. Some bioterrorism agents, like the smallpox virus, can be spread from person to person and some, like anthrax, cannot. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention History Biological Warfare and terrorism have been dated back in ancient times such as in ancient rome wherein feces was thrown into the faces of enemy. Before the 20th century, the use of biological agents took three major forms: Deliberate poisoning of food and water with infectious material Use of microorganisms, toxins or animals, living or dead, in a weapon system Use of biologically inoculated fabrics Selecting an BW agent Anti Personnel Ideal characteristics of a biological agent to be used as a weapon against humans are high infectivity, high virulence, non-availability of vaccines, and availability of an effective and efficient delivery system. Stability of the weaponized agent (ability of the agent to retain its infectivity and virulence after a prolonged period of storage) may also be desirable, particularly for military applications. The primary difficulty is not the production of the biological agent, as many biological agents used in weapons can often be manufactured relatively quickly, cheaply and easily. Rather, it is the weaponization, storage and delivery in an effective vehicle to a vulnerable target that pose significant problems.

Anti-crop/anti-vegetation/anti-fisheries It can also specifically target plants to destroy crops or defoliate vegetation.Weaponized herbicides caused epiphytotics in plants and caused vast damage to enemy agricultural farmlands. Notable use of this was by the United States with their famous agent orange which caused devastating effects in vietnam. Anti-livestock Attacking animals is another area of biological warfare intended to eliminate animal resources for transportation and food. In 1980s Soviet Ministry of Agriculture had successfully developed variants of foot-andmouth disease, and rinderpest against cows, African swine fever for pigs, and psittacosis to kill chicken. These agents were prepared to spray them down from tanks attached to airplanes over hundreds of miles. The secret program was code-named "Ecology". Entomological Warfare It is a type of BW that uses insects to attack the enemy. The concept has existed for centuries and research and development have continued into the modern era. EW has been used in battle by Japan and several other nations have developed and been accused of using an entomological warfare program. EW may employ insects in a direct attack or as vectors to deliver a biological agent, such as plague or cholera. Essentially, EW exists in three varieties. One type of EW involves infecting insects with a pathogen and then dispersing the insects over target areas.The insects then act as a vector, infecting any person or animal they might bite. Another type of EW is a direct insect attack against crops; the insect may not be infected with any pathogen but instead represents a threat to agriculture. The final method uses uninfected insects, such as bees, to directly attack the enemy. Biological and toxin agents of military importance Bacterial Bio-agents Disease Anthrax Brucellosis (bovine) Brucellosis (caprine) Brucellosis (porcine) Cholera Diphtheria Dysentery (bacterial) Glanders Listeriosis Melioidosis Plague Causative Agent (Military Symbol) Bacillus anthracis (N) or (TR) Brucella abortus (AB) Brucella melitensis (AM) or (BX) Brucella suis (US) or (NX) Vibrio cholerae (HO) Corynebacterium diphtheriae (DK) Shigella dysenteriae, some species of Escherichia coli (Y) Burkholderia mallei (LA) Listeria monocytogenes (TQ) Burkholderia pseudomallei (HI) Yersinia pestis (LE)

Tularemia Viral Bio-agents

Francisella tularensis (SR) or (JT)

Disease Causative Agent (Military Symbol) Equine Encephalitis (Eastern) Eastern equine encephalitis virus (ZX) Equine Encephalitis Venezuelan Equine Encephalomyelitis virus (FX) (Venezuelan) Equine Encephalitis (Western) Western equine encephalitis virus (FX) Japanese B encephalitis Japanese encephalitis virus (AN) Rift Valley fever Rift Valley fever virus(FA) Smallpox Variola virus (ZL) Yellow fever Yellow fever virus (OJ) Biological Toxins Toxin Botulinum toxins (A through G) Ricin Saxitoxin Staphyloccocal enterotoxin B Tetrodotoxin Trichothecene mycotoxins Source of Toxin (Military Symbol) (X) or (XR) castor bean (Ricinus communis) (W) or (WA) various marine dinoflagellates (TZ) or (SS) Staphylococcus aureus (UC) or (PG) various marine bacteria, including Vibrio alginolyticus, Pseudoalteromonas tetraodonis (PP) various species of fungi, including Fusarium, Trichoderma, and Stachybotrys