2. Definition
• Terrorism : “The unlawful use of force and
violence against persons or property to
intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian
population, or any segment”
• Bioterrorism: bioterrorism attack is the
deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, toxins
or other harmful agents used to cause illness
or death in people, animals, or plants.
4. Why are they used?
• Can be easily disseminated, and can cause widespread fear
and panic beyond the actual physical damage
• Bioterrorism is an attractive weapon because biological
agents are relatively easy and inexpensive to obtain.
• The use of agents that do not cause harm to humans but
disrupt the economy have been discussed. Eg. Foot and
mouth disease virus
• Some bioterrorism agents, like the smallpox virus, can be
spread from person to person and some, like anthrax,
cannot.
5. Key Features of Biologic Agents Used as
Bioweapons
• High morbidity and mortality
• Potential for person-to-person spread
• Low infective dose and highly infectious by aerosol
• Lack of rapid diagnostic capability
• Lack of effective vaccine
• Potential to cause anxiety
• Environmental stability
• Potential to be “weaponized”
6. Earliest attempts at biological warfare
• 400 BC – Scythian archers – arrows dipped in blood
• 300 BC – Greek & Romans – animal cadavers – contaminate
water supplies
• 190 BC- Hannibal hurled snakes onto empty ships of King
Eumenes
7. • 1346 – Mongols catapulted bodies of plague victims over
city walls
• 1718 – Russians tried the same tactic against Sweden
• 1763 – British gave small pox inoculated blankets to
Indians
8. 20th century
• By the time World war 1 began, attempts to
use anthrax were directed at animal populations.
• Dilger from Germany -infected horses with glanders while
they were waiting to be shipped to Britain
9. • In 1972 police in Chicago arrested two college
students, Allen Schwander and Stephen Pera, who had
planned to poison the city's water supply
with typhoid bacteria.
10. 21st century
• In Oregon , followers of the Shree
Rajneesh attempted to control a local election by
incapacitating the local population – Salmonella
typhimurium.
• Letters laced with infectious anthrax were
concurrently delivered to news media offices and the
U.S Congress. The letters killed thousands of people
11.
12. CLASSIFICATION
• Category A, B and C – CDC
Category A
•Easily disseminated
•High mortality rates
•Major public health impact
•Public panic and social disruption
Category B
•Moderately easy to
disseminate
•Low mortality rates
Category C
•Emerging pathogens
•Could be engineered for
mass dissemination in the
future
13. Category A agents
Bacteria Viruses
•Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
•Botulism (Clostridium botulinum
toxin)
•Plague (Yersinia pestis)
•Smallpox (Variola major)
•Tularemia (Francisella
tularensis)
•Viral hemorrhagic fevers:
•Arenaviruses: Lassa, New World
(Machupo, Junin, Guanarito, and
Sabia)
•Bunyaviridae: Crimean Congo,
Rift Valley
•Filoviridae: Ebola, Marburg
•
•Flaviviridae: Yellow fever; Omsk
fever; Kyasanur Forest
19. Category B agents
• Moderately easy to disseminate
• Result in moderate morbidity rates and low
mortality rates
• Require specifically enhanced diagnostic
capacity
21. Category C agents
• Include emerging pathogens
• Could be engineered for mass dissemination in the
future because of availability, ease of production,
ease of dissemination
• The recent emergence of novel viruses leading to
outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS), Nipah, hantavirus are examples
22. T2 - mycotoxins
• Tricothecene mycotoxins -are nonvolatile
compounds produced bi filamentous fungi
primarily of the genera Fusarium, Myrotecium,
Trichoderma, and Stachybotrys.
• Inhalation, Dermal, and Oral.
• Involve eyes, skin, respiratory and
gastrointestinal tracts.
• Death rate : 10 to 20 %
23. Is it really bioterrorism?
• Outbreak of a rare disease
• Seasonal disease at a wrong time
• Unusual age distribution
• Unusual clinical symptoms
• Unsual epidemiologic features
• Outbreak in a region / geographic location
where it is not normally seen
24. How to be prepared for a BT attack?
• Familiarize medical staffs with agents of BT
Incorporate into disaster planning –
• Decontamination & infection control
• Communication with key agencies- Laboratory, Respective
national health authorities
• Contacts to obtain stockpiled supplies – Antibiotics, Immune
sera, Vaccines, etc
• Security preparations
25.
26. Preparedness
• Laboratories are working on advanced
detection systems to provide early warning,
identify contaminated areas and populations
at risk, and to facilitate prompt treatment.
27. References
• Bioterrorism – emergency preparedness and
response – CDC
• Bioterrorism – Dr.T.V.Rao ppt
• Bioterrorism – Infectious diseases- National
academics of science