A biological agent is a micro-organism or a toxin derived from it, which causes disease in worlds, workss, or animate beings or causes impairment of stuff. It produces an consequence through generation within a mark host and is intended for usage in war to do disease or decease in worlds, workss, or animate beings. ( Venkatesh, Memish, 2003 ) In this context, the biological agents are usually divided into three classs: anti-personnel, anti-animal, and anti-plant. In add-on, the usage of biological agents is frequently classified by the mode in which they are used. For illustration: biological warfare has been defined as a specialised type of warfare conducted by a authorities against a mark ; biological terrorism has been defined as the menace or usage of biological agents or toxins by persons or groups motivated by political, spiritual, ecological, or other ideological aims. Biological arms are devices intended to intentionally circulate disease-producing beings or toxins in nutrient, H2O, by insect vector, or as an aerosol. They achieve their mark effects through infectivity or poisoning. The toxic substances that the agents generate can sometimes be isolated. The arms have the capacity to originate epidemics on a graduated table and with a grade of deadliness unparalleled in modern history. Thousands of infective micro-organisms have been investigated for their possible public-service corporation as arms, but few have been found satisfactory, and fewer have found their manner into arms. ( Venkatesh, Memish, 2003 ) Terrorists can be distinguished from other types of felons by their motive and aim ; felons may besides be driven by psychological pathologies and may utilize biological agents. When felons use biological agents for slaying, extortion, or avenge it is called a biocrime. ( Anderson, Friedman, & A ; Bendinelli, 2006 )
When a bioterrorist event occurs, the clinical microbiology research lab could be helpful in observing and placing the biological arm used and alarming governments. The term biological agent applies to a diverse group of micro-organisms every bit good as toxins of micro-organisms, workss, and animate beings. More specifically biological terrorism is defined as the usage of biological agents to bring down disease and/or decease on worlds, animate beings or workss. Crops and farm animal every bit good as human populations are considered possible bioterrorist marks. Bioterrorist onslaughts could hold ideological, spiritual, political or condemnable motive and could be planned by groups or a individual person or be portion of state-sponsored terrorist activities. The biological agents thought to be most likely arms of bioterrorists include B. anthracis ( splenic fever ) , Francisella tularensis ( tularaemia ) , Yersinia plague ( pestilence ) , variola virus ( variola ) , agents of viral hemorrhagic febrilities, and botulism toxin. While some agents merely harm the population exposed, infective agents bring forthing contagious disease could circulate through susceptible population unaffected straight by the initial bioterrorist event. The agent must be “ weaponized ” or produced in sufficient measure and in a signifier that would be comparatively stable and easy disseminated. The onslaught itself would be either covert or overt. In the instance of covertly disseminated infective agents, there might be no realisation that an onslaught had occurred until legion victims fell badly and their common unwellness had been diagnosed. The most efficient method of presenting biological agents is thought to be the air-borne path, with agents dispersed in aerosols but misreckoning of wind way could ensue in a lost mark or worse, self-contamination with the agent being dispersed. ( Wolfgang & A ; Ruoff, 2001 )
The thought of mounting some signifier of defensive activity against possible bioterrorist actions is appealing because although bioterrorist Acts of the Apostless are expected to be infrequent, they are regarded as “ low-probability, high-consequence events. ” Public feelings about biological terrorism are reminiscent of the widespread concern about atomic arms that arose in the post-World War II Cold War epoch. Fear of atomic, chemical, and biological arms of mass devastation is good founded and possibly reflects an unconditioned human repugnance, based on moral and ethical evidences, against the usage of arms bring forthing such ruinous agony in fellow worlds, even those construed as enemies. The bombardment of the World Trade Center in New York marked the debut of such International terrorist act to U.S. district, and there are indicants that terrorists could utilize biological agents in the hereafter. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services increased the budget to fix for biological terrorism in the financial twelvemonth. The financess support an antibioterrorism enterprise with the end of fixing the state to better support itself against a possible onslaught with biological agents. ( Wolfgang & A ; Ruoff, 2001 )
Most agents are designed to be easy breathed in and susceptible to endure which is ne’er predictable. During dispersion, the agent could drift to unintended topographic points. For illustration, the splenic fever attacks through the mail added another dimension to biological arms by non being weather dependant. Hoaxes are a hazard for travellers because they have caused closing of airdromes, complete alteration of paths and foundation of aeroplanes. ( Venkatesh, Memish, 2003 )
Bioterrorism agents include micro-organisms such as bacteriums, viruses, Chlamydia, Fungi and rickettsia, come ining the organic structure by inspiration or consumption and multiplying and doing unwellness and decease or epidemics. These agents besides include toxins and chemicals that regulate biological maps. Hormones and peptides have normal physiological effects in low and moderate doses and patho-physiological effects in high doses. B. anthracis, botulinus toxin, variola, Yersinia plague, ricin, staphylococcal enterotoxin B, and Venezuelan equine phrenitis virus straight affect exposed people and can non go through from individual to individual. ( Venkatesh, Memish, 2003 )
Biological agents are categorized by several characteristics which influence their possible usage for arms. Some of the characteristics include infectivity, virulency, deadliness, pathogenicity, incubation period, contagiousness, stableness. ( Venkatesh, Memish, 2003 )
Robert Koch provided a footing for the development of a new coevals of biological arms. He conceptualized and provided experimental support for the germ theory of disease. Koch used microscopy during his early work with splenic fever to show that the blood of animate beings with disease contained big Numberss of a spore-forming bacteria and that the bacteriums could be cultured outside the organic structure in alimentary fluids. The being must be isolated in pure civilization to associate a specific micro-organism to a specific disease ; towards the terminal Koch developed several methods to insulate the micro-organisms in pure civilization. Once they were available he was able to explicate the standards, Koch ‘s posits, for turn outing that a specific type of micro-organism causes a specific disease. ( Anderson, Friedman, & A ; Bendinelli, 2006 )
Since 1900-2003, there have been 29 confirmed incidents in which the usage of a biological agent was suspected. The bulk of them were condemnable type, 15 involved the usage of bacteriums, 10 toxins, 5 viruses, and 1 used the egg cell of a parasitic tinea ; 3 of the incidents were used against farm animal or other animate beings, the balance involved the usage of biological agents or toxins against worlds. ( Anderson, Friedman, & A ; Bendinelli, 2006 )
The largest event intentionally infected people by Salmonella Typhimurium and involved the injection of HIV. Ricin was the most common toxin used in those incidents where toxins were used in blackwash or for slaying. The bulk of the bacterial species that were used belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae, which is the method used to circulate the agent that was non known in the instance. In the instances that it was known, contaminated nutrient consumption, injection, and inspiration were used. A important proportion of the incidents were perpetrated by persons with scientific or medical preparation. ( Anderson, Friedman, & A ; Bendinelli, 2006 )
For many old ages biological agents were used for condemnable activities, warfare or terrorist onslaughts. Bioterrorism is a awful menace doing many human deaths. The public wellness system in the United States is doing many attempts to fix and protect from bioterrorist onslaughts through surveillance, epidemiology and research lab capacity, which will hopefully take to early sensing of events and minimise the figure of casualties. ( Anderson, Friedman, & A ; Bendinelli, 2006 )
****Listed below are several charts and tabular arraies demoing features, standards, biological agents, and diagnosing of research lab trials of several biological agents. ****
