9 biological hazards that can be used as lethal weapons

Many viruses and bacilli that cause devastating and deadly infections are in the world or confined in laboratories and are considered dangerous biological weapons for humanity. Some of these diseases have already been used as weapons to decimate enemies in some ancient wars.

The practice was used until 1925, when the Geneva Protocol was enacted, prohibiting the use of asphyxiating, toxic or similar gases, and establishing a ban on chemical and bacteriological weapons in international armed conflicts. Nevertheless, the treaty was disobeyed by some leaders, such as Adolf Hitler in World War II and Saddam Hussein in the war against Iran, who used chemical agents such as mustard gas.

However, in the case of diseases caused by lethal viruses and bacilli, we are not fully protected. Although some of them are eradicated, their strains and specimens are alive in some labs, risking the wrong hands to the point of causing a viral and bacteriological apocalypse. Check out some of them below.

1 - Anthrax

Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis . Most forms of the disease are lethal, affecting humans and animals. Like many other members of the Bacillus genus, B. anthracis can form dormant endospores that can survive in adverse conditions for decades or even centuries.

Under certain conditions, they may “wake up” if inhaled, ingested or when they come into contact with a skin lesion and can multiply rapidly and kill. In view of its resistance to environmental change and high mortality, anthrax is classified as a class A biological weapon.

One of the latest cases of the bacterium as an invisible weapon was postal terrorism in 2001, which had letters sent with anthrax to offices of some media and Democratic senators in the United States, infecting 22 people and killing five.

Effective anthrax vaccines are now available, but with several side effects, and some forms of the disease respond well to antibiotic treatment if done quickly.

2 - Smallpox

Smallpox was one of the most devastating diseases in history, killing nearly 500 million people in the twentieth century alone. Fortunately, it was considered eradicated by the WHO World Health Organization in 1980 thanks to the intensive vaccination campaign worldwide. The vaccine was created in 1796 by Edward Jenner.

The disease was reported to have arisen in India, but it was also described in Asia and Africa even before the Christian era, and it could be the deadly epidemic that killed one third of the population in 430 BC.

The disease could only be eliminated because only humans are hosts with only one serotype (so immunization is effective and protects against 100% of cases). However, the virus is stored in two government centers, the Atlanta Disease Control Laboratory (CDC) and the Vector Institute in Koltsovo, Russia.

Although WHO calls for the samples to be destroyed, some scientists resist this decision. Thus, even if the organs harboring the virus are well protected, there is always a risk that something will get out of hand.

Smallpox is considered a class A biological weapon, and there are two types of the disease: major smallpox (or just smallpox) and minor smallpox or sprawl, which causes the same but much more moderate symptoms. The last case of natural infection with smallpox was recorded in 1977.

3 - The bubonic plague

In medieval Europe, a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis caused the death of 25 million people. The pest is resistant to low temperatures and stored in sputum.

The main vectors are fleas, rodents and other infected animals. Along with other types of plague, bubonic is characterized by a high degree of contagion and very high mortality. If treatment is not started on time for the first 24 hours, it can kill in 70% of cases.

Patients with severe infectious disease have been used as a weapon against enemies since ancient China and medieval Europe. Infected corpses were placed in water sources and catapults to be thrown into fortresses.

4 - Cholera

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by the choleric vibrium ( Vibrio cholerae), which is a rapidly multiplying bacterium, especially in areas with poor sanitary conditions and high temperature climates. Infection usually occurs through the consumption of water or food contaminated by fecal waste.

Within a short period of time accelerated contamination can become an epidemic, with a 50% mortality in the absence of treatment, and is even higher in adults over 40 years of age. For these reasons, it can also be considered a biological weapon.

Nevertheless, the treatment is simple and highly effective if done on time, consisting of serum hydration and antibiotic use. During World War II, cholera bacteria and typhoid fever were placed by the Japanese in more than 100 Chinese wells, causing the deaths of hundreds of people living in poor conditions.

5 - Tularemia

Tularemia is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis . It is very stable in the environment and its main hosts are hares, mice and squirrels. Transmission occurs through contact with animals or through contaminated food and water and is highly contagious.

Despite the fact that tularemia mortality rate is only 5%, it is considered a potential biological weapon due to its ability to cause mass infection rapidly: a few samples of sprayed tularemia bacteria can lead to the infection of thousands. of people.

6 - Botulinum toxin

Botulinum toxin is composed of a protein complex obtained from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum . Human infection occurs by ingesting toxin-contaminated foods in the gastrointestinal tract. Despite the low occurrence of the disease, it has high lethality, causing muscle paralysis, motor and respiratory difficulties.

Botulinum toxins are referred to as one of the most highly toxic biological substances. If contamination is present and diagnosis is rapid, treatment with anti-toxin (antidote) is possible.

7 - Henipavirus

Henipaviruses are naturally harbored by frugivorous bats and some species of micromcats. The disease is capable of causing death in domestic animals and humans. In 2009, RNA sequences from three new henipaviruses were detected in the Eidolon helvum bat in Africa.

Some epidemics also occurred in horses in Australia, which were infected by bats. Of these, some people were infected by contact with horses. In November 2012, a vaccine became available to horses, breaking the transmission cycle of bats to horses and preventing them from passing to humans.

According to scientists, an effective vaccine for humans will take longer to make, but there are already some experimental ones. A curiosity: Nipah virus, one of the causes of Henipavirus, was what inspired the movie Contagion (2011).

8 - Chimera (Ebola with Smallpox)

During the Cold War, the Soviets created a program of terrifying biological weapons. From 1970 to 1992, 60, 000 Soviets were involved in research and testing of biological weapons.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, foreign nations recruited the scientists. Some, such as Ken Alibek, joined US private companies and shared secrets about the program.

One of the most deadly Soviet projects was an attempt to create the chimera virus: half smallpox and half Ebola. It could spread as quickly as smallpox and kill with Ebola's strength.

It is unknown whether Soviet deserter scientists have sold their research to terrorist host nations, but since that time American scientists and government officials have been preparing for the possibility of this chimera being triggered.

9 - Ricina

Toxin of plant origin six times more poisonous than cyanide, ricin is obtained from a castor bean seed protein. Even in small doses, ricin can kill a person when in contact with the lungs (inhaled) or bloodstream (injected). There is no contagion from person to person.

Military agencies in different countries have studied it as a weapon of mass destruction. Traces of ricin and instructions for its manufacture were repeatedly found during the capture of terrorists in Kabul, London and Paris.