Define biological weapons intuitively. Biological weapons, brief characteristics of pathogens
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Biological weapons have many disadvantages: their effects are difficult to predict and control. There is also no guarantee that the enemy army will suffer more losses. Therefore, biological weapons were most often used in history in a state of hopelessness and despair.
Plague, Kaffa fortress, 14th century
The first use of bacteriological weapons occurred in 1346, during the siege of the Crimean city of Kaffa (present-day Feodosia). At that time, the fortress was the largest trading point of the Genoese Republic. Khan of the Golden Horde Janibek entered into open war with the Genoese due to increasing complaints that the colony's traders were unprincipledly taking into slavery the children of Tatar nomads who were starving due to natural disasters.
From the bustling center of the slave trade, the city of Caffa, the plague quickly spread throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.
The absence of a fleet did not stop the Golden Horde Khan from seeking to punish the greedy Genoese. But anger alone was not enough; the walls of the fortress were practically invulnerable to the Tatar attack. In addition, a plague began to spread among the Horde warriors, further weakening the position of the attackers.
Then Janibek ordered the body of the warrior who died from infection to be chopped up and thrown into the city by catapult. There was no turning point in the confrontation - the Horde was forced to retreat soon due to the final loss of combat effectiveness. But for Kaffa this event did not pass without a trace. The epidemic, which spread among the inhabitants of the Genoese colony, rapidly affected more and more large cities in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Thus began the plague pandemic or Black Sea, during which more than half the population of these territories died.
Smallpox against Indians, 18th century
In 1763, British troops found themselves in a difficult situation. Having lost a significant number of soldiers and forts in battles with the Indians, the colonists also faced a smallpox epidemic. Disease raged at Fort Pitt, further weakening the British position.Activist and entrepreneur William Trent, who was a captain during the siege, was the first to propose infecting the Indians with smallpox.
The indigenous population of America did not have immunity to diseases brought from Europe, such as smallpox, typhoid, and measles.
The tools for implementing the plan were blankets and clothes from the hospital where sick Englishmen were staying. This tactic was agreed in writing between General D. Amherst and Colonel G. Bouquet. The contaminated items were given to two Delaware negotiators who visited the fort in June 1763. After this event, there were outbreaks of smallpox among the Indian population.
Native Americans were more vulnerable to this infection than the colonists. Therefore, even such insignificant contact was enough for the spread of an aggressive virus. There is also evidence that subsequently smallpox blankets continued to be given as a sign of respect or sold to the Indians, which provoked the spread of the disease and a rapid decrease in their numbers.
Typhoid, plague and cholera - combat bacteria from a Japanese laboratory
The Japanese approached the creation of bacteriological weapons consistently. A secret scientific center was organized here under the direction of microbiologist Shiro Ishii, where strains of pathogenic microorganisms were developed. The causative agents of typhoid, plague, and cholera, which were cultivated in the laboratory, were modified in such a way as to cause maximum harm and quickly lead to death.
To develop biological weapons, they tested prisoners of war.
Inhumane experiments were carried out on Chinese, Soviet and Korean prisoners of war.
It is known that bacterial weapons were used in battles against the Soviet Union and Mongolia in 1939. Special detachments of volunteer suicide bombers infected the Argun, Khalkin-Gol and Khulusutai rivers with several infections at once - typhoid fever, anthrax, plague, cholera. As a result, 8 people from the Soviet-Mongolian troops died from dangerous infections. The remaining 700 sick people were helped. But the Japanese side suffered much more; after this event, the number of people sick with typhus, cholera and plague exceeded 8 thousand people.
Another event where bacteriological weapons were used was the Battle of Changde in 1941, during the Sino-Japanese War. Plague-infected fleas and grain, a bait for rats, were dropped from an airplane onto the city and its surroundings. As a result, an epidemic broke out, which in 4 months claimed the lives of almost 8 thousand residents of Changde.
This event served as the reason for the evacuation of the remaining residents. The Japanese took control of the deserted town, which had been destroyed by artillery fire during an unnecessary siege.
Tularemia, 1942, Battle of Stalingrad
In the turning point battle with Nazi troops, field mice acted on the side of the Soviet Union. The idea was this: rodents delivered to the location of German tanks were supposed to damage the wiring in them and render them inoperable. In addition, mice are carriers of tularemia, a bacterial infection that causes fever and general toxicity. It rarely leads to death, but it is quite capable of removing the enemy from a combat-ready state.
The mice disabled German equipment and spread tularemia among German soldiers.
In early November 1942, before the Red Army was preparing to attack, the mice were sent for surgery. There was no need to specially train the rodents; they were simply looking for warmth and food, thus climbing into the tanks and gnawing on the insulation of electrical circuits. A significant part of the tanks were indeed disabled, and there were few tankers who fell ill; German doctors quickly determined the cause of their illness.
Anthrax, 1944, "Vegetarian" plan
At the beginning of World War II, W. Churchill prepared a plan for the large-scale defeat of Nazi Germany by anthrax spores. The name of the operation is “Vegetarian”. The causative agent of this disease remains viable in the soil for a century, and perhaps longer. The mortality rate from gastrointestinal anthrax is 60%.
Grunard Island, where biological weapons were tested, is considered one of the most dangerous places on the planet.
After the spread of pathogenic spores through pastures in Germany, impressive results were expected. Infection of farm livestock would lead to mass mortality and a food crisis. The disease would also affect millions of people, half of whom would not survive. Another result is the unsuitability of poisoned areas for human life for many decades.
Airplanes and contaminated bread were ready by 1944, but the British leadership did not give the order to implement the plan, since the course of the war had changed dramatically by that time. In 1945, infected workpieces were destroyed in an incineration plant.
The place where biological weapons were tested, the Scottish island of Grunard, was considered dangerous even for a short stay. And after thorough measures taken in 1986, when the top layer of soil was removed and the remaining layer was saturated with formaldehyde, no one wants to settle and relax here.
Introduction
Biological weapons (bacteriological) are a means of mass destruction of people, animals and destruction of agricultural crops. The basis of its damaging effect is bacterial agents, which include pathogens (bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, fungi) and toxins produced by bacteria.
Bacteriological reconnaissance is organized in order to timely identify the enemy’s preparation for the use of BS, establish the fact of their use, determine the type of agents, as well as the extent of contamination of the terrain and air in the zones of military action.
The medical service provides instructions to chemical observation posts and reconnaissance patrols on the rules of sampling for indication of BS, as well as the implementation of complex tasks of bacteriological reconnaissance of foci of bacterial infection in the zone of action of troops and specific indication of BS.
The main activities of bacteriological reconnaissance are:
mining and obtaining intelligence data on the enemy’s preparation for the use of bacteriological weapons;
constant monitoring of the air and terrain to detect external (direct and indirect) signs indicating the possibility of the enemy using BS;
indication of BS, aimed at detecting characteristic factors indicating the use of these drugs, as well as determining the type of bacterial formulations used;
timely detection and examination of each case of emerging infectious diseases among troops, the population, as well as among farm animals;
establishing the extent of bacterial contamination, as well as identifying local agents that can be used for antibacterial protection.
Continuous collection of intelligence data on the enemy's preparation for the use of bacteriological weapons is ensured by the efforts of combined arms headquarters.
Constant monitoring of the air, terrain and waters is carried out by all military units.
External signs of the use of bacteriological weapons include:
less sharp sounds of explosions of aircraft bombs, missiles, shells and mines, unusual for conventional ammunition, accompanied by the formation of a cloud, fog or smoke at the soil surface;
the appearance of a quickly disappearing strip of fog or smoke behind an enemy aircraft or along the path of balloons;
the presence of drops of turbid liquid or deposits of powdery substances, as well as fragments and individual parts of ammunition in places where ammunition explodes on the ground and surrounding objects;
the appearance on the ground of the remains of unusual bombs, missiles and shells with piston and other devices for creating aerosols;
the presence of unusual for the area accumulations of insects, ticks and rodent corpses near the site where bombs or containers fell.
Under conditions of the enemy's use of bacteriological weapons, the possibility of infectious diseases appearing earlier than the fact of a bacteriological attack is established, and earlier than bacterial disease-causing agents are detected in the external environment, cannot be ruled out. In these conditions, the medical service is obliged to conduct a detailed epidemiological examination of the outbreak of diseases and organize the necessary set of anti-epidemic measures.
Emergency prevention begins immediately after the fact of the use of bacteriological weapons or the appearance of mass infectious diseases of unknown etiology among personnel is established.
1 The concept of biological weapons
Biological weapons are special ammunition and combat devices with delivery vehicles equipped with biological agents.
The following can be used as biological agents:
1. To hit people:
Causative agents of bacterial diseases (plague, tularemia, brucellosis, anthrax, cholera);
Causative agents of viral diseases (smallpox, yellow fever, Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis);
Pathogens of rickettsial diseases (typhoid fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Cholelithiasis);
Pathogens of fungal diseases (coccidiodomycosis, pocardiosis, histoplasmosis);
2. To kill animals:
Pathogens of foot and mouth disease, rinderpest, swine fever, anthrax, glanders, African swine fever, false rabies and other diseases;
3. To destroy plants:
Pathogens of cereal rust, potato late blight, late wilting of corn and other crops;
Insect pests of agricultural plants;
Phytotoxicants, defoliants, herbicides and other chemicals.
An essential feature of biological weapons is the presence of a latent period of action, during which the affected remain in the ranks and perform their duties, and then suddenly fall ill.
The latent period can be different, for example, when infected with plague and cholera it can last from several hours to 3 days, with tularemia - up to 6 days, typhus - up to 14 days.
For the delivery of biological agents, the same carriers are used as for nuclear and chemical weapons (aircraft bombs, shells, mines, missiles, aerosol generators and other devices). In addition, bacterial formulations can be used in a sabotage manner.
The main method of using biological agents is contamination of the ground layer of air. When ammunition explodes or generators are triggered, an aerosol cloud is formed, along the path of which particles of the formulation contaminate the area. It is possible to use biological agents using insects, ticks, rodents, etc., infected with pathogenic microbes.
The use of bacteriological weapons by the enemy can be detected by the following visible external signs:
Formation of an aerosol cloud after the explosion of ammunition or when generators are triggered;
Detection of remains of special containers, ammunition and other types of weapons;
The presence of a large number of insects, ticks, rodents unknown to the area, etc.
Pathogenic microbes cannot be detected by human senses. This is only possible with the help of technical means of nonspecific bacteriological (biological) reconnaissance.
2 Prevention of lesions
Pathogens can enter the human body in various ways:
When inhaling contaminated air;
When drinking contaminated water and food;
When microbes enter the bloodstream through open wounds and burn surfaces;
When bitten by infected insects;
In contact with sick people, animals, contaminated objects, and not only at the time of use of biological agents, but also for a long time after their use, if sanitary treatment of personnel has not been carried out.
Common signs of many infectious diseases are high body temperature and significant weakness, as well as their rapid spread, which leads to the occurrence of focal diseases and poisoning.
Direct protection of personnel during a biological attack by the enemy is ensured by the use of individual and collective protective equipment, as well as the use of emergency prevention equipment available in individual first-aid kits.
Personnel located in the source of biological contamination must not only use protective equipment in a timely and correct manner, but also strictly follow the rules of personal hygiene:
Do not remove personal protective equipment without the permission of the commander;
Do not touch weapons, military equipment and property until they are disinfected;
Do not use water from sources and food products located in the source of infection;
Do not raise dust, do not walk through bushes and thick grass;
Do not come into contact with personnel of military units and civilians not affected by biological agents and do not transfer to them food, water, uniforms, equipment and other property;
Immediately report to the commander and seek medical help when the first signs of illness appear (headache, malaise, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.).
3 Types and main properties of biological warfare agents
Pathogenic microorganisms - causative agents of infectious diseases in humans and animals, depending on the size of the structure and biological properties, are divided into the following classes: bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, fungi, spirochetes and protozoa. The last two classes of microorganisms are of no importance as biological agents of destruction, according to foreign experts.
Bacteria- single-celled microorganisms of plant nature, very diverse in their shape.
Main forms of bacteria:
Staphylococcus
Diplococcus
Streptococci
Rod-shaped
Vibrios
Spirilla
Their sizes range from 0.5 to 8-10 microns. Bacteria in vegetative form, i.e. in the form of growth and development, are very sensitive to the effects of high temperature, sunlight, sudden fluctuations in humidity and disinfectants and, on the contrary, remain sufficiently stable at low temperatures even down to minus 15-25 o C. Some types of bacteria are able to survive in unfavorable conditions become covered with a protective capsule or form a spore. Microbes in spore form are very resistant to drying out, lack of nutrients, high and low temperatures and disinfectants.
Among pathogenic bacteria, the causative agents of anthrax, botulism, tetanus, etc. have the ability to form spores.
According to literature sources, almost all types of bacteria used as agents of destruction are relatively easy to grow on artificial nutrient media, and their mass production is possible using equipment and processes used by industry in the production of antibiotics, vitamins and modern fermentation products.
The class of bacteria includes the causative agents of most of the most dangerous human diseases, such as plague, cholera, anthrax, glanders, meliodia, etc.
Viruses have relatively high resistance to low temperatures and drying. Sunlight, especially ultraviolet rays, as well as temperatures above 60 o C and disinfectants (formalin, chloramine, etc.) have a detrimental effect on viruses.
Viruses are the cause of more than 75 human diseases, including such highly dangerous ones as smallpox, yellow fever, etc.
Fungi- single- or multicellular microorganisms of plant origin. Their sizes range from 3 to 50 microns and more. Fungi can form spores that are highly resistant to freezing, drying, sunlight and disinfectants. Diseases caused by pathogenic fungi are called mycoses. Among them are such severe infectious diseases of people as coccidioidomycosis, blastomycosis, histoplasmosis and other biological ones) weapons called weapon, striking action weapon Radiological weapon- one of the possible types weapons mass destruction. His action based...
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The article presents data on the use of biological and chemical weapons. It is concluded that assessing the impact (consequences of use) of chemical and biological agents is fraught with enormous difficulties. The results of studies are often affected by the vagueness of various variables, since it can be extremely difficult to distinguish between true long-term effects of exposure and subsequent manifestations of the same symptoms associated with a wide range of other causes. The likely use of a variety of biological and chemical drugs in combination with a variety of other factors, leading to an extensive list of long-term symptoms of adverse effects (including carcinogenesis, teratogenesis, mutagenesis and a range of non-specific somatic and psychological symptoms), is expected to be associated with exposure to chemicals. substances along with other possible causes.
biological weapons
biological and chemical preparations
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The many emergencies or disasters to which public health authorities have or will have to respond include the intentional use of biological weapons that release biological or chemical agents. This problem is currently one of the priorities for healthcare worldwide. The history of mankind has preserved information about the poisoning of wells during numerous wars, the infection of besieged fortresses with plague, and the use of poisonous gases on the battlefield.
Back in the 5th century BC. The Indian Law of Manu prohibited the military use of poisons, and in the 19th century AD. The civilized colonizers of America gave contaminated blankets to the Indians to cause epidemics in the tribes. In the 20th century, the only proven fact of the deliberate use of biological weapons was the Japanese infection of Chinese territories with plague bacteria in the 30-40s.
Some experts believe that the United States used biological weapons during the Vietnam War, where over 100 thousand tons of herbicides and defoliants were sprayed, primarily affecting vegetation. In this way, the Americans tried to destroy the greenery on the trees in order to see the partisan detachments from the air. Such use of biological weapons is called ecosystem-based, since pesticides do not have an absolutely selective effect. Thus, in Vietnam, damage was caused to freshwater fish, the catch of which until the mid-80s. remained 10-20 times lower than before the use of pesticides for military purposes. The soil fertility of the affected lands remained 10-15 times lower; as a result of the use of herbicides, more than 5% of the country's farmland was destroyed. Direct health damage was caused to 1.6 million Vietnamese. More than 7 million people were forced to leave areas where pesticides were used.
The development, production and use of biological and chemical weapons is prohibited by international treaties signed by the majority of WHO member states. These treaties include the Geneva Protocol of 1925, the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972, the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, etc. Given the fact that not all of the world's nation-states have signed the treaties, there remains a well-founded fear that someone might try to use such weapons. In addition, non-state actors may also try to obtain it for terrorist or other criminal purposes.
The use of poisonous gases (mustard and nerve agent) during the war between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1988, two cases of the use of sarin (in 1994, 1995) by the religious sect "Aum Shinrikyo" in public places in Japan, ( including in the Tokyo subway), the spread of anthrax spores through the United States postal system in 2001 (resulting in the death of five people) clearly confirms the need to be prepared for situations where chemical or biological agents are deliberately released
Recognizing this need, the World Health Assembly, at its 55th session in May 2002, adopted resolution WHA55.16, which called on Member States to “consider any, including local, deliberate use of biological and chemical agents and nuclear radiation attack to cause harm as a global public health threat and to respond to such threats in other countries by sharing experiences, materials and resources to quickly contain the impact and mitigate the consequences.”
Biological (bacteriological) weapons (BW) are a type of weapon of mass destruction, the action of which is based on the use of the pathogenic properties of biological warfare agents - pathogens of diseases in humans, animals and plants. Biological weapons include biological (bacterial) agents and means of their delivery to defeat the enemy. The means of their delivery can be missile warheads, shells, aircraft containers and other carriers. According to foreign experts, an important feature of biological weapons is their high destructive efficiency at very low doses required for infection, as well as the ability of some infectious diseases to spread epidemically. The appearance of even a relatively small number of patients as a result of the use of biological weapons can subsequently lead to the epidemic covering large masses of troops and the population. The relative resistance and duration of the damaging effect of biological weapons is due to the stability of some pathogens of infectious diseases in the external environment, especially if they are used in the form of spores. As a result, long-lasting foci of infection can be created. The same effect can be achieved by using infected vectors - ticks and insects. A specific feature of biological weapons that distinguishes it from all other types of weapons is the presence of an incubation period, the duration of which depends on the nature of the infectious disease caused (from several hours to 2-3 weeks or more). Small doses of biological agents, the absence of color, taste and smell, as well as the relative complexity and duration of special indication methods (bacteriological, immunological, physicochemical) make it difficult to timely detect biological weapons and create conditions for their covert use. According to foreign experts, one of the properties of biological weapons is their strong psychotraumatic impact on civilians and troops. A feature of biological weapons is also its reverse (retroactive) effect, which can manifest itself when pathogens of contagious diseases are used and consists in the spread of epidemic diseases among the troops who used these weapons.
The basis of the damaging effect of biological weapons are bacterial agents - bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, fungi and toxic products of their vital activity, used for military purposes using live infected disease carriers (insects, rodents, ticks, etc.) or in the form of suspensions and powders. Pathogenic microbes are colorless, odorless and extremely small in size, measured in microns and millimicrons, which makes them invisible to the naked eye. Bacteria, for example, can only be directly detected using electron microscopes. Biological weapons cause illness and often death in humans when they enter the body in negligible quantities.
Infectious diseases caused by the use of biological weapons, under certain conditions, can spread from one source of infection to another and cause epidemics. Infection of people and animals can occur as a result of inhalation of air contaminated with bacterial agents, contact of pathogenic microbes and toxins on mucous membranes and damaged skin, bites by infected vectors, consumption of contaminated food and water, contact with contaminated objects, injury from fragments of bacterial ammunition, and also by contact with infectious patients.
Consequences The use of biological or chemical weapons can be divided into short-term and long-term.
The most characteristic short-term result of the use of biological and chemical weapons is a large number of casualties. The enormous demand for medical resources is growing given the fact that the psychological reaction of the civilian population to an attack using biological or chemical weapons, including possible panic and horror, can be much more pronounced than the reaction resulting from an attack using conventional weapons. A clear example of the nature of the short-term consequences of an attack using chemical weapons in an urban environment is the one that took place in 1994-1995. terrorist attack in Japan, during which the nerve gas sarin was used. Episode in the United States with letters containing anthrax spores in late 2001.
The possible long-term effects of biological and chemical weapons, including delayed, prolonged and environmentally mediated health effects long after the weapon was used, are generally less certain and less understood.
Some biological and chemical agents can cause physical or mental illness that persists or manifests itself months or even years after the weapon itself is used. This effect is considered generally accepted and has repeatedly been the subject of special scientific monographs. It can contribute to the spread of damage caused by biological or chemical weapons beyond the target area, both in time and space. For most agents, specific predictions cannot be made because very little is still known about their long-term effects.
Long-term consequences of releases of biological and chemical agents may include chronic diseases, late-onset symptoms, new infectious diseases that become endemic, and effects resulting from environmental changes. Possibility of chronic diseases after exposure to certain toxic chemicals is well known. The occurrence of chronic debilitating pulmonary diseases in victims of mustard gas attacks was noted after the First World War. Similar information is also contained in reports on the status of illnesses in Iran following Iraq's use of mustard gas during the war between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the 1980s. Observation of victims in Iran revealed debilitating chronic diseases of the lungs (chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, asthmatic bronchitis, pulmonary fibrosis, obstruction of the pulmonary ducts), eyes (delayed onset of keratitis leading to blindness) and skin (dry, itchy skin with numerous secondary complications , pigmentation disorders and structural disorders from hypertrophy to atrophy). Cases of death due to pulmonary complications occurred more than 10 years after the cessation of all exposure.
When using biological agents as weapons, the most likely pathogens to be used are considered to be plague, smallpox, anthrax, tularemia, brucellosis, glanders, melioidosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, American equine encephalomyelitis, yellow fever, Q fever, deep mycosis, as well as botulinum toxin. Pathogens of foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, African swine fever, anthrax, and glanders can be used to infect farm animals; for plant infection - pathogens of wheat stem rust, etc. Biological agents, including those that cause special concern, can cause long-term diseases.
Brucella melitensis infections, for example, are more severe than brucellosis caused by B. suis or B. abortus and particularly affect the bones, joints and heart (endocarditis). Re-infection, weakness, weight loss, general illness and depression are the most common symptoms. Infections associated with Francisella tularensis, also lead to long-term illness and weakness and can last for many months. Viral encephalitis can have irreversible consequences for the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Delayed manifestations in persons exposed to certain biological or chemical agents, may include, depending on the dose received, carcinogenesis, teratogenesis, and mutagenesis. Some biological and chemical agents are also clear causes of cancer in humans. However, it is not yet known whether an infection transmitted by those microorganisms that are suitable for biological weapons can be carcinogenic to humans. As for the ability of certain classes of chemicals to cause cancer, mainly in animals on which experiments are carried out, there is also little data on this issue. For example, some chemicals of particular interest, such as mustard gas, are alkylating agents, and many such substances have been shown to be carcinogenic. As evidenced by the literature, the occurrence of carcinogenesis after a single active episode associated with exposure to sulfur mustard is questionable. However, there is sufficient evidence to indicate a significant increase in the incidence of respiratory cancer among workers as a result of long-term exposure to low doses of mustard gas during industrial production. Results from animal experiments and epidemiological data from population groups indicate that carcinogenesis caused by many carcinogens depends on the strength and duration of exposure. Therefore, one-time exposures would be expected to be much less carcinogenic than long-term exposures to the same total dose over many months or years. Some chemicals and infectious agents can cause significant harm to the human fetus. Well-known examples of this phenomenon are thalidomide and the rubella virus. It is not known which specific chemicals or biological agents discussed here are teratogenic when dosed by pregnant women in exposed civilian populations. Little attention has so far been given to studying the question of whether known chemical and biological agents can cause dangerous hereditary changes in humans. According to some reports, many chemicals can cause such changes both in experimental organisms and in human cell cultures. If biological agents are used to cause diseases that are not endemic in the country under attack, this may result in the disease will become endemic both for humans and for possible vectors such as arthropods and other intermediate hosts such as rodents, birds or livestock. For example, disputes Bacillus anthracis are very stable when released into the environment and can persist for a very long time, especially in soil. By infecting and multiplying in the body of animals, they can create new foci. Microbes that are causative agents of gastrointestinal infections in humans, such as Salmonella And Shigella. Strains Salmonella may also be present in domestic animals. A particular problem may be that the deliberate release of a virus for hostile purposes Variola could lead to the re-emergence of smallpox, which was eventually eradicated from its natural form in the 1970s, with particular benefit to developing countries. Finally, there may be consequences due to environmental changes. New foci of diseases can be created as a result of environmental changes caused by the use of biological agents infectious to humans and animals, or as a result of the use of defoliants. This can lead to long-term harmful consequences for human health, manifested in a reduction in the quantity and quality of food products of plant and animal origin. In addition, there could be significant economic impacts, either through direct impacts on agriculture or through indirect impacts on trade and tourism.
In addition to their ability to cause physical injury and illness, biological and chemical agents may well be used in psychological warfare (a military term for subverting morale, including terrorizing) given the horror and fear they cause. Even when these agents are not actually used, the threat of their use can cause disruption to normal life and even panic. The exaggeration of this impact is due to the exaggerated perception of the threat of biological and chemical weapons, which can arise in some cases. In addition, people sometimes have a better understanding of the harmful effects associated with conventional weapons than those associated with toxic and infectious materials.
The advent and proliferation of long-range missile delivery systems has heightened the fear of biological and chemical attack in cities where the population feels somewhat defenseless, which in turn further increases the potential for psychological warfare. Thus in Tehran during the “war of the cities” in the final stages of the war between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the 1980s, when the threat (never realized) that missiles could be used to deliver chemical weapons reportedly caused greater alarm than warheads containing powerful explosive charges. Another example was the 1990-1991 Gulf War, when there was a threat that Scud missiles targeting Israeli cities might be armed with chemical warheads. In addition to military and civil defense personnel, many citizens received protective equipment against chemical attack and training to protect themselves in case of chemical warfare agents. Also of great concern was the fact that all rocket attacks were always considered to be a chemical attack until it was confirmed that they were not, even though no chemical warheads were actually used by Iraq.
Thus, assessing the impact (consequences of use) of chemical and biological agents is fraught with enormous difficulties. The results of studies are often affected by the vagueness of various variables, since it can be extremely difficult to distinguish between true long-term effects of exposure and subsequent manifestations of the same symptoms associated with a wide range of other causes.
The likely use of a variety of biological and chemical drugs in combination with a variety of other factors, leading to an extensive list of long-term symptoms of adverse effects (including carcinogenesis, teratogenesis, mutagenesis and a range of non-specific somatic and psychological symptoms), is expected to be associated with exposure to chemicals. substances along with other possible causes.
Conflicting data and inconclusive results currently mean that it is simply impossible to draw clear conclusions .
Reviewers:
Gromov M.S., Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, General Director of LLC “Honest Clinic No. 1”, Saratov;
Abakumova Yu.V., Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Professor of the Department of Clinical Medicine of the Saratov Medical Institute "REAVIZ", Saratov.
Bibliographic link
Konovalov P.P., Arsentyev O.V., Buyanov A.L., Nizovtseva S.A., Maslyakov V.V. USE OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS: HISTORY AND PRESENT // Modern problems of science and education. – 2014. – No. 6.;URL: http://science-education.ru/ru/article/view?id=16621 (access date: 07/29/2019). We bring to your attention magazines published by the publishing house "Academy of Natural Sciences"
Biological weapons are one of the most terrible inventions in human history.
Biological weapons are called spores of microorganisms. As a rule, these are spores of various diseases, viruses, toxins. Such weapons are classified as weapons of mass destruction. This type of weapon is prohibited according to the year.
The action of biological weapons is to cause massive damage to enemy personnel. These weapons are used to poison personnel and the population directly. Water, livestock or any other animal, or crops can also be exposed to bacteria. Thanks to biological weapons, the party that used them can cause epidemics on enemy territory.
Use of biological weapons
The use of biological weapons is prohibited by the 1925 Geneva Protocol. However, history knows examples of the use of biological weapons. For example, in ancient Rome, during the siege of fortresses, not only stones were thrown at the city’s defenders, but also the corpses of animals that had died from disease. The defenders had nowhere to put the fallen corpses, and the infection spread, the cities were destroyed.
- In 1346, the bubonic plague began in Europe. They say that Khan Janibek had a hand in spreading the plague. He and his troops besieged the city of Kafa in Crimea. Unsuccessfully. As he was leaving, he finally threw in the corpse of a man who had died of the bubonic plague. The city was a trading city, the merchants themselves unknowingly spread the epidemic throughout the continent.
- In 1763, European settlers actively explored the American continent. They really didn't like the local Indians. The settlers resorted to a trick. Blankets contaminated with smallpox spores were distributed to the Indians. This is how the young democracy put biological weapons into practice.
- In 1942, the British, during World War II, were going to poison the Germans with anthrax spores. We developed a program and conducted experiments. It didn't come to real use. But the island on which the experiments took place remained in quarantine until 1990.
- Between 1939 and 1945, militaristic Japan used bacteriological weapons in China and Mongolia. In Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk) in 1979 there was an anthrax epidemic. There is a version that it was an American sabotage.
Defeat by biological weapons
When injured by a bacteriological weapon, the effect does not occur immediately. Every virus and bacteria has an incubation period. The spread of the virus when damaged by bacteriological weapons is difficult to stop, because it is transmitted from a sick person to a healthy one.
Methods of using bacterial weapons
- Aerosol. This method is simple, just spray infected particles into the air. The wind will spread the spores over a large area, causing enormous damage.
- Insects. Tricky, labor-intensive, but effective. The method of using bacterial weapons would be to infect blood-sucking insects.
- Diversionary. This method includes contamination of reservoirs, water pipes, and wells.
Biological weapons examples and types
Examples of biological weapons are diseases that can cause an epidemic among the population. For example, such as: cholera, bubonic plague, smallpox and anthrax.
Action of biological weapons
The effect of biological weapons is the spread of pathogens: terrible, fatal, fast-moving diseases - botulism, cholera, plague, anthrax. These are terrible diseases, against which even modern medicine is very difficult.
Defense against biological weapons
Biological weapons are deadly, and it is catastrophically difficult to defend against them. The best means are vaccines and antibiotics. When attacking an enemy using such substances, it is worth using individual and collective means of defense. Respirators, masks, gas masks are considered personal protective equipment. Collective ones include bunkers and shelters that can be maintained autonomously for a long time.
To prevent the spread of infection, the population is forcibly vaccinated. The facilities are being sanitized. Strict control over the movement of citizens from the affected area is being introduced. Biological weapons conclusions Biological weapons violate the rules of war and contradict all humane principles of the world order. Therefore, the use of such weapons is prohibited by international agreements.
Biological weapons documentary
Biological weapons are weapons of mass destruction (WMD), often also having unpredictable effects. The destructive effect of weapons of this type is based on the use of various types of bacterial microorganisms, which cause not only widespread illness, but also often lead to the death of people, plants and animals.
The classification of bioweapons in some cases also includes insect pests of various types, which are capable of destroying the entire crop of the opposing state. Previously, the term “bacteriological weapon” was often mentioned, but since the field in which weapons of this type are used includes not only bacteria, the term “bacteriological weapon” was replaced by the term “biological weapon”. If the damage is caused precisely by the use of bacteria, then the term sounds like “Bacteriological biological weapon”.
History of the use of biological weapons
Although the full range of damaging effects of biological weapons became known relatively recently, and the development of biological weapons seriously interested scientists only during the Second World War, history knows many examples when, even in ancient times, people tried to use biological weapons for military purposes.
Here is a list of the most famous cases of the use of biological weapons of mass destruction in history:
- The first case of the use of biological weapons was recorded in the 3rd century BC. It was then that the Carthaginian commander Hannibal came up with a method of using biological weapons, firing at the enemy fleet with pots filled with poisonous snakes. Although this case is not a full-fledged use of biological weapons, it still deserves special mention in the history of the development of modern biological weapons;
- The first case of the use of bacteriological biological weapons was recorded in 1346. During the siege of Kafa by Mongol troops, a plague epidemic suddenly broke out among the besiegers. Before retreating, the Mongols threw several bodies of people who died from disease over the enemy walls. Since protection against biological weapons was unknown at that time, an epidemic also broke out in the Café;
- The next attempt to use bacteriological weapons occurred in 1435, when the Spaniards tried to infect French soldiers with leprosy by mixing the blood of sick people into their wine. But since the effect of biological weapons was not studied at that time, the attempt at large-scale infection failed;
- One of the most “successful” attempts to use bacteriological weapons was carried out in 1520. It was then, during the campaign to colonize South America, that the Spanish conquistador Cortes successfully used the properties of bacteriological biological weapons, infecting Aztec captives with smallpox. The released warriors quickly infected the entire nation with smallpox, causing the total population to more than halve. It was this year that bacteriological biological weapons, due to their properties, destroyed a huge number of people. Lacking immunity against smallpox, the Aztecs were doomed from the start;
- The year 1683 can be considered the year of the official birth of bacteriological biological weapons. This year, Anthony Van Leeuwenhoek discovered and described bacteria, marking the beginning of the development of bacteriological biological weapons, although the first research in this area did not appear until 200 years later;
- The first to consciously use the features of biological weapons was General Jeffrey Amherston, who fought with the North American Indians. On his initiative, the local population received blankets used by smallpox patients as gifts. As a result, the number of North American aborigines declined significantly.
The First World War gave a huge impetus to the development of various types of biological weapons. Biological weapons and various viruses were widely used by a number of European countries, which most often infected livestock by driving it into enemy territory. Many fundamentally new types of biological weapons were developed by Germany, which even managed to test air bombs with various viruses in battles against England.
The consequences of these combat tests were so terrifying for all participants in the war that in 1925 the Geneva Protocol was signed, prohibiting the use of biological weapons in battle. However, despite the ban, many countries were actively engaged in research in this area.
During World War II, Japan and Germany made impressive strides in the development of biological weapons. Using numerous closed camps, scientists from these countries, having conducted a series of inhuman experiments with people, have achieved significant success in this area, achieving a quick and fatal effect in an experimental person affected by viruses. At the same time, protection complexes were developed, for which various drugs were administered to the experimental subjects.
In the USSR, scientists have made significant progress in the development of antibiological protection. If combat operations took place in territory where signs of the use of biological weapons were suspected, all soldiers were vaccinated against plague, anthrax and tularemia.
American scientists, having received archives of German inventions in this field after the war, and enlisting the support of leading German scientists, developed their new biological weapons.
The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention obliged states that signed it to cease the development, production and stockpiling of biological weapons. True, the lack of checks in this area made the implementation of these conditions not very effective. The development of biological weapons is most likely still being carried out in the strictest secrecy by a number of countries around the world.
Features of the use and principles of action of biological weapons
The use of biological weapons harms not only people and animals, but also poses a serious threat to the plant world. The following components are used as various damaging toxins or microorganisms:
- Various bacteria;
- Viruses;
- Rickettsia;
- Viruses;
- Fungi;
- Various toxins.
There is unconfirmed information that there are bacterial weapons that use prions as a combat element, which allows them to hit the enemy at the genetic level. Since military operations are aimed, among other things, at destroying the enemy’s economy, the use of insect pests should also be equated to biological weapons, which are very effective in destroying agriculture.
Biological weapons are necessarily used in one inextricable complex with means of transportation and use. Delivery vehicles are various combat vehicles that are able to ensure the delivery of biological weapons to the point of use. These include:
- Missiles of various types;
- Air delivery means;
- Projectiles;
- Special units whose task is to quietly penetrate enemy territory and use biological weapons.
Applications include:
- Various capsules;
- Destroyable containers;
- Sprayers of various types;
- Aviation pouring devices.
The most likely option at present is the use of ballistic cruise missiles.
The destructive effect of biological weapons has the following features:
- Biological weapons of any type are highly effective;
- Detecting the source of biological contamination is quite problematic;
- Since some types of diseases that biological weapons spread have an incubation period, this increases the stealth parameters, but cannot ensure the rapid incapacitation of enemy personnel;
- Huge selection of different viruses and toxins;
- A long-lasting effect that can affect even future generations, since some viruses are resistant to the external environment;
- Possibility to choose the degree of damage, from temporary incapacitation to death;
- Some viruses can cause an epidemic;
- Possibility to select the action of viruses. Some can infect people, some can infect animals, and there are others that destroy crops;
- If biological weapons are sprayed in the form of various aerosols, then they can penetrate into any premises with insufficient sealing.
The biggest problem is the inability to control the actions of biological weapons. Due to a sudden change in wind, it can spread to a completely different area.
Advantages and disadvantages of biological weapons
Biological weapons have certain advantages:
- Availability and low cost compared to traditional types of weapons;
- The emergence of large-scale epidemics not only in the enemy army, but also among its civilian population;
- Spreading panic;
- Disorganization of enemy rear operations.
From these points it follows that biological weapons are a very simple and effective way of large-scale destruction of the enemy.
Despite the advantages, biological weapons have a number of disadvantages:
- The most significant disadvantage is that the spread of the epidemic is almost impossible to control. Bacteria cannot be taught to distinguish enemy from friend;
- Many viruses indiscriminately destroy all living things in their path;
- Some viruses can trigger the process of irreversible mutations, the consequences of which cannot be predicted in advance. For example, the Americans have seriously developed a program for surviving the “zombie apocalypse,” which in essence should begin after the use or emergence of a deadly virus. All previously developed vaccines may become useless for mutating organisms;
- Viruses themselves can also mutate; just remember the HIV virus. Even the common flu mutates every year, rendering some of the drugs created to fight the previous year's virus useless.
Protection against biological weapons comes down to two groups of measures. The first group includes various preventive measures, including vaccinations, sanitary and epidemiological surveillance and means of early detection of the source of infection.
The second group, which includes therapeutic measures, includes emergency isolation and treatment of sick people. Periodic drills and artificial simulations of situations have led to the fact that every developed country has an algorithm of actions in the event of an unexpected biological attack.
Methods for carrying out covert sabotage using biological weapons
The most covert use of biological weapons is the use of various insects that are carriers of viruses. Mosquitoes, flies, ticks and lice themselves are carriers of various infections, so using them as carriers of biological weapons is completely unsuspicious. Insects and rodents infected with viruses can live for a long time, ranging from several days to several years.
There is still ongoing debate about whether the Colorado potato beetle is a biological weapon or whether it appeared in Europe by accident. Although most people in the post-Soviet space believe that this beetle was planted by the Americans, the Colorado potato beetle most likely appeared along with a batch of infected potatoes that were bought in the United States. And then these potatoes entered Russian territory through Poland. The reality of this theory is evidenced by the fact that the number of Colorado potato beetles was minimal at first, but over the years they multiplied.