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Bioterrorism
Preparation
Recognition
And Response
Bioterrorism is defined by the
Centers For Disease Control as
the deliberate release of
infectious agents with the
intent to cause disease or
Death in animals people or
plants. 1
First Reference to
Bioterrorism?
The old testament with the plague of
god that kills all of the first-born of
Egypt in retaliation for Pharoh Ramses'
threat to kill the son of Moses
History of Biological Warfare
or Bioterrorism
We get our English word for poison or
toxin from the Greek word toxikon,
which in turn is derived from the
Greek word for arrow, toxon.
Herodotus, a Greek historian of the
fifth century B.C.E. Describes the
Scythians archers of the black sea as
employing poison-tipped arrows. (2).
Adder Venom, Dung, and
Blood Yum Yum
In the 5th century B.C.E., Scythians used
the decomposed bodies of several
venomous adders indigenous to their
region, mixed human blood and dung into
sealed vessels and buried this mixture until
it was sufficiently putrefied. This poison
would certainly contain the bacteria of
gangrene and tetanus
In the 14th Century, the Tartar army used
a combination of psychological warfare
and bio-warfare. The ubiquitous rat and
an outbreak of the bubonic plague among
their own troops worked for the Tartar
army besieging Kaffa in 1346. Tartars
catapulted bodies of plague victims
over the walls of Kaffa in an attempt
to initiate an epidemic upon the
residents. 2
The first recoded "weaponized" biological
agent in North America occurred during
the French and Indian Wars . The agent
was smallpox. The method of delivery
was blankets not bombs. Sir Jeffrey
Amherst who was the commander of
British forces in North America formulated
a plan to "reduce," as he so clinically
expressed it, the size of the Native
American tribes that were hostile to the
crown.
Bioterrorism vs Biological Warfare
What is the
difference?
While Germany dabbled with
biological weapons in World War I,
the Japanese military practiced
biowarfare on a mass scale in the
years leading up to and throughout
World War II. Directed against China,
the onslaught was spearheaded by a
notorious division of the Imperial
Army called Unit 731.
In occupied Manchuria, starting
before WWII, Japanese scientists
used scores of human subjects to
test the lethality of various
disease agents, including
anthrax, cholera, typhoid, and
plague. As many as 10,000
people were killed 5
.
In active military campaigns, several
hundred thousand people—mostly Chinese
civilians—fell victim. In October 1940, the
Japanese dropped paper bags filled with
plague-infested fleas and grain over
Chinese cities. Other attacks involved
contaminating wells and distributing
poisoned foods. The Japanese army never
succeeded, though, in producing advanced
biological munitions, such as pathogenlaced bombs. 5
Soviet Union and the U.S.
reached new heights in the
anxious climate of the Cold
War. Both nations explored
the use of hundreds of
different bacteria, viruses, and
biological toxins
In 1995 The apocalyptic
religious sect Aum Shinrikyo
released sarin gas in a Tokyo
subway, killing 12 commuters
and injuring thousands
This sect also released
anthrax and botulinum toxin,
but failed to weaponize them
adequately.
The median inhaled human
lethal dose of botulinum is ~ 3
nanograms. This means that
~ 10 lbs if evenly distributed,
is enough to kill every person
in the world.
First Anthrax Victim in 2001
Attacks
In early October 2001, just days after Bob
Stevens hiked through North Carolina's Chimney
Rock Park and drank from a waterfall,
government officials were retracing his steps.
They were desperate to know why the 63-yearold man lay gravely ill in a Florida hospital. His
diagnosis: anthrax.6
Mr. Stevens and several of his coworkers were exposed to anthrax
in a mailed envelope. These
attacks sickened 22 people, killed
5 and resulted in tens of
millions of dollars in
decontamination that included
post offices and congressional
office buildings
…and this was the first
instance of bioterrorism in the
U.S. Since smallpox infected
blankets were given to
American Indians
“Bioterrorism Funding
Withers As Death Germs
Thrive In Labs, Nature”
Article by Lynn Peeples Huffington
Post Reporter on 2-10-12
Why Big Nations
Lose Small Wars
Asymmetric warfare is war
between belligerents whose
relative military power differs
significantly, or whose
strategy or tactics differ
significantly
Before ~ 1950’s wartime
victory of the strong over the
weak was the general rule,but
after that era that began to
change.
Ring Around the
Rosy
Pocketful of Posies
Ashes Ashes
We All Fall down
Ring around the rosy
(The feverous face encircled with
pustules)
A pocket full of posies
(Flowers placed on the foul smelling
victim)
Ashes, ashes
(Septic shock that precedes death,
wearing of mourning ashes, or burning of
the corpses of the plague victims?)
All fall down
(The victim dies)
1918 to 1919
Spanish Flu Pandemic.
The world population
was ~ 1.7 Billion
st
1 transatlantic flight
was in 1919
How many deaths were
caused by this pandemic?
?
A. 100,000
B. 500,000
C 4,000,000
D 40,000,000
Citing fears of an “unimaginable
catastrophe,” a governmentappointed board on Tuesday
explained why it recently
recommended censoring details
of new research on deadly bird
flu virus.
“Our concern is that publishing these
experiments in detail would provide
information to some person,
organization, or government that
would help them to develop similar
... viruses for harmful purposes,” the
23 voting members of the National
Science Advisory Board for
Biosecurity wrote in a statement
published jointly Tuesday by the
journals Science and Nature.
Have we had this level of
security since the Manhattan
Project?
CDC Categories of Biologic Agents
Category A
can be easily disseminated or transmitted
from person to person;
result in high mortality rates and have the
potential for major public health impact;
might cause public panic and social
disruption; and
require special action for public health
preparedness.
Comprise Category A
------------------------------------------Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)*
Botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin) *
Plague (Yersinia pestis)*
Smallpox (variola major)
Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)*
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (filoviruses [e.g.,
Ebola, Marburg] and arenaviruses [e.g.,
Lassa, Machupo])*
(* can affect dogs and cats)
Tularemia is one of the most infectious
diseases known, inhalation of as few as
10 organisms will cause disease
NOT tularemia
Smallpox
Cutaneous Anthrax
Category B
Definition
Second highest priority agents include
those that
are moderately easy to disseminate;
result in moderate morbidity rates and
low mortality rates; and
require specific enhancements of CDC's
diagnostic capacity and enhanced disease
surveillance.
Brucellosis (Brucella species)
Epsilon toxin of Clostridium perfringens
Food safety threats (e.g., Salmonella species,
Escherichia coli O157:H7, Shigella)
Glanders (Burkholderia mallei)
Melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei)
Psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci)
Q fever (Coxiella burnetii)
Ricin toxin from Ricinus communis (castor beans)
Staphylococcal enterotoxin B
Typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii)
Viral encephalitis (alphaviruses [e.g., Venezuelan equine
encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis, western
equine encephalitis])
Water safety threats (e.g., Vibrio cholerae,
Cryptosporidium parvum)
We have now reached a point
where pathogens can be
genetically engineered and
even hybridized which can
yield increased virulence and
atypical presentations
Prions are pieces of misfolded
proteins that are particularly
difficult to destroy. They are
very slow acting and have
recently been found to cross
species barriers more readily
than believed
Agroterrorism is a subset of
bioterrorism, and is defined as
the
deliberate introduction of an
animal or plant disease with the
goal of generating fear,
causing economic losses, and/or
3
undermining social stability.
We are the land of milk
and honey, and that
makes us particularly
vulnerable to agricultural
terrorism.
Agroterrorism lacks the “shock
value” of traditional terrorist
targets but the American
agricultural system is
uniquely vulnerable.
Farms are geographically
disbursed in unsecured
environments. Livestock are
frequently concentrated in
confined locations, and
transported or commingled with
other herds.
Agricultural diseases are
relatively easy to obtain, handle
and distribute..
International trade in food
products often is tied to diseasefree status.
The FMD outbreak in the U.K.
was estimated to cause a ~ 6
billion loss. These impacts
exceed the value of the animals
because of the number of
industries affected by the
outbreak, ranging from feed
suppliers to tourism.
A similar outbreak in the U.S. has
been estimated to cost about $25
billion.
It is further estimated that 25 miles of
trench would be required to shoot
and bury the livestock. The
psychological impact on farmers
would be indescribable
These impacts exceed the value
of the animals
because of the number of
industries affected by the
outbreak, ranging from feed
suppliers to tourism.
The United States has the lowest
spending on food prepared
at home (6.5%) compared to the
rest of the world, which ranges
from 10%-15% for
most developed countries and
30% or higher for some
3
developing countries.
The Department of Homeland Security is
proceeding with plans to replace the
aging Plum Island Animal Disease
Center with a new “National Bio and
Agro-Defense Facility” for research on
high consequence foreign animal
diseases. The research facility is being
moved to Manhattan Kansas.
A WHO simulation of an FMD
attack by a terrorist at a single
location.
Only after the 5th day of the attack would the
disease be detected, by which time it may
have spread to 23 states. By the 8th day, 23
million animals may need to be destroyed in
29 states.
Although bioterrorist agents
are traditionally thought of as
affecting livestock, they can
affect companion animals and
wildlife as well!
Establishing a working
relationship between
WesCART, medical
professionals and other
emergency personnel is
important to allow open
communicating and
coordination in times of crisis
CDC has a 24/7 Emergency
response hotline at
770-488-7100
Westchester County
Department of Health at (914)
813-5000
Steven Immerblum DVM (914)
262-2572
NY State Veterinarian
Dr. David Smith
Office telephone no: (518) 4573502
fax no: (518) 485-7773
e-mail :
[email protected]
State Public Health
Veterinarian
Bryan Chery VMD, PhD
New York State
Department of Health
518-473-4439
[email protected]
1.
CDC website on Bioterrorism
www.bt.cdc.gov/bioterrorism
2. A History of Biological Warfare
from 300 B.C.E. to the Present
Thomas J. Johnson
Associate Professor of Respiratory Care
and Health Sciences
Division Director, Respiratory Care, School
of Health Professions
http://www.aarc.org/resources/biological/
history.asp
3. Agroterrorism: Threats and Preparedness
Updated March 12, 2007
Jim Monke
Analyst in Agricultural Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry
Division
4.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric
_warfare
5.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bioterror
/hist_nf.html
6.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/bi
oterrorism-bioterror-funding_n_1263903.html?icid=mainggrid10%7Chtmlws-mainbb%7Cdl7%7Csec1_lnk1%26pLid%3D13455