Download Biowarfare Agents that are WMD feasible

Biowarfare Agents that are WMD feasible
There are six biological agents that are WMD feasible including smallpox, Ebola,
Marburg, plague, botulism, and anthrax.
Much of the technologies that support the production and development of organisms and
toxins into biological warfare agents are dual-use and are very difficult to pin-point telltale purchases of technologies intended for the production of these agents for nefarious
purposes.
For the purposes of conducting an offensive biowarfare program, the production of high
concentrations of biological organisms or performing aerosolization experiments requires
a series of controls that can be identified. These controls include the implementation of
scientific measures and in acquiring the seed strain, in engineering controls, and in the
use of medical measures.
Scientific controls require a sufficient knowledge base of PhD scientists trained in
molecular and cellular biology, virology, and bacteriology trained to accurately and
safely conduct biowarfare research and weaponization. Once the scientific capability is
acquired, a second necessary precursor to the development of WMD-feasible biological
agents is in acquire a sufficient amount the seed strain of the organism. Acquiring
sufficient amounts of the seed strain is no easy task, though, and is therefore a
considerable precursor requirement. Acquiring the smallpox virus has two known stores,
at secure laboratories at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and at
the State Research Center for Virology and Biotechnology in the Novosibirsk region of
Russia. The seed strain of the Marburg virus is found in infected African green monkeys
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while the natural reservoir of the Ebola virus
originates from gorillas and chimpanzees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote
d’Ivoire, the Philippines, Uganda, and Sudan. Guinea pigs have been proven successful
in research as a rodent model to host of the Ebola and Marburg viruses. These nonhuman primates are identifiable precursors.
Engineering controls include manipulating the agents within a biosafety-secure facility
maintained to biosafety level 3 or 4 standards. BL 4 conditions are required for
extremely infectious and hazardous agents, such as Ebola, Marburg, smallpox, plague,
and botulism. BL4 conditions include a negative-pressure environment with airlocks,
protective clothing, and other systems to inactive agents in waste and exhaust air. The
individuals working within a high-risk biowarfare program setting would utilize other
safety mechanisms including using powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs), though
these can be bought off the shelf for a few hundred dollars per copy which make PAPRs
as a control as less reliable precursor.
Technical hurdles towards the weaponization process include machining the agent into an
aerosol. This process requires the scientist to have a refined machining capability that
can manipulate the agent into a dry powdered form that is highly concentrated, of
uniform particle size, of low electrostatic charge, and treated to reduce clumping in order
for the bacteria to penetrate the spaces of the deep lung.
Medical controls are to prevent laboratory-acquired infections during the high-risk
process of aerosolization and weaponization. Avoiding the risk of exposure or disease to
the scientist manipulating the biological agent are critical safety measures to take. A
failure to maintain sufficient protective measures can result in the death of the scientists
who face high-risk exposure while weaponizing the agents. The scientist can become
infected after a high-risk exposure during the centrifugation and aerosolization process.
Because of the high-risk infection setting, it is critical to vaccinate people working with
or around these agents. The acquisition of an effective vaccine is a necessary component
to reduce/eliminate the likelihood of laboratory-acquired infections from agents in a highrisk offensive BW program and is therefore a significant precursor to signal the existence
of an offensive biowarfare program. Smallpox itself was a virus that was declared
eliminated in 1980, the U.S. private market has no incentive to investment the time and
money needed to develop a smallpox vaccine. Under this circumstance an actor
developing a smallpox vaccine would signal an intent to deliberately disseminate the
smallpox.