Biological Agent Detection example essay topic

BIOTERRORISM Jennifer Salvo Troy State University Professor O'Reilly-Dickerson SCI 2233 February 15, 2005 Abstract Throughout time, the quest to dominate another is limited only to the imagination of one man poised against the other. From feces smeared arrows to poisonous snakes, from infected blankets to super bugs created in a lab. Sometimes common flu symptoms such as headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, coughing, and shortness of breath are the first signs of bio terrorism. For some reason, the more we search for answers to counter the effects of bio terrorism the worse is gets.

The road to detection is not a narrow path, but a wide-open journey. Throughout history, warriors and terrorists have used a wide range of tactics and techniques to help defeat their enemy on and off the battlefield. These weapons of war have evolved from throwing rocks and sticks at each other to the unthinkable weapons of mass destruction called bio terrorism. You may ask yourself, what is bio terrorism? The Center for Disease Control defines bio terrorism as the intentional or threatened use of bacteria, fungi, or toxins from living organisms to produce death or disease in humans, animals, or plants and involves intimidation of nations or people to accomplish political or social ends. (CDC 2005) In ancient times, archers shot arrows at their enemies that were dipped in blood from dead and decomposing bodies, while others had the feces of animals smeared onto the tips to cause severe infection after entering the body.

During sea battles, the great Hannibal would have venomous snakes thrown onto enemy ships causing enemy shipboard personnel to get bitten and die, further allowing Hannibal and his men to board the ships and gather the bounty. Numerous stories are in text about the dead bodies of contaminated victims that were catapulted over walls in an effort to regain or overtake whatever was inside those walls. Since no one wanted to touch the dead bodies that flew over the walls of a fort or city, the disease quickly spread to the people, ultimately, forcing them to surrender. Some historians believe this was the initial technique used to cause the plague epidemic that swept across Europe, killing over 25 million people. (Mayor 2003) Russian troops also thought the idea of using infected corpses was a good technique of war when they also used disease-ridden bodies of plague victims in order to take a city in Sweden. It has been said that the Spanish secretly infected French wine with blood from leprosy patients that made the troops too sick to fight.

During the French and Indian War, the British thought the Indians could not be trusted and were loyal to the French. Because of this distrust, the British gave the Native Americans who were inside a French fort blankets previously used by smallpox victims in order to regain that strategic Fort. Allegations were made throughout the Civil War by both sides not only because horses and cattle were killed and left to rot in watering holes and wells causing sickness to both human and animal, but especially against the Confederate Army and Luke Blackburn, the future governor of Kentucky, for using this same bio terrorism technique as the British during the Civil War when he tried to infect clothing with smallpox and yellow fever he sold to unsuspecting Union troops. (Phillips, n. d.) Over the years, with no real means of biological agent detection except to observe the typical signs and symptoms of a particular agent, townspeople and military commanders assumed that anyone showing any sign of a biological agent must be infected and had them either quarantined or burned to death in order to prevent the spread of the disease. The children's nursery rhyme "Ring around the Rosie" comes from the Bubonic Plague outbreak in Europe around 1347. The only means of detection was to observe the signs and symptoms of friends and family members who could no longer hide it from others.

The initial symptoms of the Plague began as little rings around a red colored sore (Ring around the Rosie). Shortly afterwards, the red sores would spread and darken or become black causing a putrid smell on the body letting everyone know they had the plague. If others found out someone had the plague whether it was friends, family members or a simple passerby, they would either burn them alive or send them away from their family. In order to hide the sickening smell so others would not know; people would try to disguise the smell by wearing heavy clothing and attaching different things such as garlic or sweet smelling flowers to their body (Pocket full of Posies).

As the disease progresses, the sores and skin of the victims would turn a grayish coloring (Ashes, Ashes). There was no cure for the Plague and sooner or later, (We all fall down). It wasn't until the 1930's that the real science of bio terrorism really began to blossom. Because the international law known as the Geneva Protocol of 1925 was signed by many different nations banning the use or testing of biological agents for warfare, the Japanese government reasoned that it must be a great weapon of war since the whole world wanted to ban it. Because of this signing, the Japanese established two biological warfare units in Manchuria known as Unit 100 and Unit 731. At Unit 731, in addition to using men, women, children, and the unborn fetus for bacterial warfare testing, they also performed human experiments on the effects of burns, freezing temperatures, high-pressure impacts, bullets, and explosive effects on the human body.

At this unit, they would take human prisoners and infect their bodies with certain biological agents such as Anthrax, cholera, typhoid, plague, etc, and observe their signs and symptoms. To assist with their science experiments and live human dissection, several former members of Unit 731 testified they watched as unknown doctors infected healthy prisoners with various biological agents. Once the prisoner's began showing symptoms of varying stages, they cut them open to see what the disease does to a man's inside. They accomplished this by tying the prisoner to a table and without administering any pain reliever; cut them open from the chest to just above the groin area and began to peel them open. As this happened, they screamed and twisted in agony until the sound of death overcame them. With several operations each day, this was all in a routine day's work for the surgeons.

(Harris 2002) In the autumn of 1945, General Douglas MacArthur was the main reason members of Unit 731 were granted immunity from their war crimes in exchange for scientific research data on biological warfare. He figured that at the time, the United States had such little information on biological warfare or it's effects on the human body, the value of this information from scientific human experimentation by the Japanese was so important to national security, it far outweighed the value from war crimes' prosecution. It was determined that the information obtained from Japanese sources was to be kept as Top Secret intelligence and not be used as war crimes evidence. The President agreed with General MacArthur's assessment of war crimes versus the value of the intelligence. The U.S. State Department disagreed with this verdict, but within two years, the topic simply disappeared.

Much of what our medical community has today concerning information on high impact injuries, bullet wound, thermal injuries, and chemical and biological agent injuries began at Unit 731. Shortly thereafter, American and Soviet programs in biological warfare began in the 1940's using similar techniques described by the Japanese, but having a very different objective. In 1942, the United States formed the War Research Service where Anthrax and Botulinum toxin initially were investigated for use as weapons. Sufficient quantities of Botulinum toxin and anthrax were stockpiled by June 1944 to allow unlimited rif the German forces first used biological agents.

The British also tested anthrax bombs on Gruinard Island off the northwest coast of Scotland in 1942 and 1943 and then prepared and stockpiled anthrax-laced cattle cakes for the same reason. The initial American scientific research facility was established at Fort Detrick, Maryland, which is now known as the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases or (USAMRIID). However, with the threat of biological warfare and terrorism now possible from other countries, other research facilities were created with similar interest located in Dug way, Utah, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The American programs were directed to research the different means of detection and the cure of troops and civilians if incapacitated by the different agents. On the other hand, the Soviet scientific research originated on the banks of the Aral Sea in Central Asia.

At this and many other facilities throughout the Soviet Union, a number of agents such as the plague, various viruses, smallpox, and anthrax were given the most attention. Their objective was to create organisms that would result in as many enemy casualties as possible, without concern for treatment for Soviet troops or civilians. In 1978, a prominent Bulgarian exile was walking down the street in London when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his leg. When he turned around to see what had bitten him, he noticed that a unknown man was apologizing for bumping into him and picking up the umbrella that had fallen out of his hands.

In severe pain, the Bulgarian died several days later from what was later classified as biological agent terrorism. The autopsy revealed the leg pain the man felt was actually a small pellet that was injected into his leg by the stranger that was filled with the deadly toxin known as Ricin. (Mauro ni 2003) Since this time, numerous incidents involving bio terrorism have allegedly occurred all over the world. Countries such as Russia, Syria, Bulgaria, Pakistan, India, South Africa, North Korea, Israel, and several others have openly pursued the use of biological agents in wartime and for terrorism.

The most difficult challenge for scientists worldwide is the fact that some biological agents can be created in a lab with different strains than the one it was derived from. What this means to science is that there is simply no way to be able to detect everything that's out there. Even though more than 100 countries have ratified and signed the Geneva Protocol of 1925, there is still blatant violations happening every day because no verification or punitive measures exist to prevent anyone from creating "super bugs" in their lab. The technical community has the greatest challenge in developing biological agent detection both for the battlefield, and for civilian use. With the recent Anthrax letters to Senator Daschle's office and other locations, and the threat of al Qaeda and Osama bin laden's use as a terrorist weapon; this has become a top priority. The Office of Homeland Security provides millions of dollars to numerous companies each year in order to conduct research on agent detection.

The problem is that everything from viruses, bacteria, and toxins and their many strains can be used as a terrorist weapon. To make matters worse, biological agents and toxins cannot only be produced by the technology used by numerous countries, but to a certain extent, a lone individual with a political, religious, or other agenda can produce similar agents using information gained from the internet or advanced Chemistry or Microbiology class at any college or university. Researchers have two different thoughts on agent detection; one involves detection before a release occurs and the other involves detection after a release occurs. For a biological agent to be weaponize d, it first must be created, handled, stored and kept "alive" somewhere. This process if done by the lone terrorist can be a difficult task especially if it is being created, stored and handled in some garage located in a residential neighborhood. Unfortunately (or fortunately), there are people caught every year who try to create their own "bugs", and we can only hope we can catch them all.

To provide agent detection prior to an incident, with the advances in agent detection and pathogen research, just about every major political and sporting event has unmarked vehicles driving around the area with on board biosensors "sniffing" the outside air. Numerous government, state, and municipal buildings have biosensors installed to alert employees that an agent has been released. These vary from the small handheld devices to the very sophisticated and expensive permanently installed systems that require specialized maintenance for their upkeep. Once an unknown agent is weaponize d and used against a population or individual, the detective work begins.

At the lab, science has evolved to using genetic techniques to analyze variations in bacterial DNA to determine the "fingerprint" of the agent. This allows the identification of the strain, which in turn makes it possible to identify the original source. In the aftermath of a terrorist release, it is most important that the agent be identified for medical purposes also. The Public Health system and the World Health Organization both deal with single cases studies of biological agent infection throughout the world. It is when a major release occurs to a large number of people that it becomes a mass casualty incident and draws the attention of the media and the rest of the world. The Department of Homeland Security has identified the most populous cities in the United States where the threat of a chemical or biological agent attack could occur.

At these locations, equipment or money has been provided for training first responders. If the money has arrived, and the proper equipment has been purchased, first responders are capable of performing a field test or on-scene test to determine if an agent has actually been released or if it is a hoax. Just after the initial Anthrax incidents, a simple prank phone call or powdered sugar found in a cafeteria could prompt a full response from hundreds of local fire and police departments, hazardous material teams and emergency medical services. These first responders would have a building emptied and its occupants stripped down in freezing temperatures while being sprayed off with some decontamination solution.

It was only after trial and error and the scientific advancement of agent detection that this practice has slowed. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) receives hundreds of hoaxes each month from throughout the United States. The difference now from what it was in 2001 is that we now have a means of initial detection we can use before calling hundreds of unnecessary people to the scene of a Pillsbury frosting release. Although advances in biotechnology and agent detection continue to increase, we must remain vigilant in our search to improve diagnostics and response activities. Like the former Secretary of Defense William Cohen once said on national television, "it is not if, but when".

Bibliography

Center for Disease Control (CDC), Bioterrorism: An Overview. Retrieved February 12, 2005, from web M.
B., (n. d.) Bioterrorism: A Brief History, Retrieved February 12, 2005 from web history.
pdf Mayor, A. (2003) Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, Scorpion Bombs.
Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World, Woodstock, New York, The Overland Press, Peter Mayer Publishers, Inc. Harris, S.H. (2002) Factories of Death: Japanese Biological Warfare, 1932-1945 and the American Cover-up, Great Britain, RoutledgeMauroni, A.
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