Biolgical Warfare
Ally Peters - 5th Hour
What is Biological Warfare?
Media Influences
Book: The White Plague, a marvelous and terrifyingly plausible blend of fiction, tells of a man who is pushed over the edge of sanity by the senseless murder of his family and who, reappearing several months later as the so-called Madman, unleashes a terrible plague upon the human race---one that zeros in, unerringly and fatally, on women. This is scary, but entirely plausible.
Who Can You Talk To About Biological Warfare?
• Historians:
Historians would know a lot about Biological Warfare because it has been used frequently in the past. Some examples would be the use of nerve gas in the World Wars, the spread of the small pox virus by the British in blankets distributed to the Indians in the 18th century French and Indian war, and even in Minnesota in 1995 when members of a militia were convicted with possession of ricin.
• Medical Professionals:
Medical professionals would have an extensive knowledge about the effects of many maladies. Some include Anthrax, Smallpox, Q-Fever, Typhoid Fever, Ebola, and many more. You could talk to them if you are concerned you may be experiencing unusual symptoms.
• The General Public:
The general public should be concerned about BioWarfare, and they should be aware of the risk it poses. You could discuss with families plans of escape if a Biological Warfare attack were to occur.
Immediate Risk Factors:
- You could become violently ill.
- You may not even know a sickness is coming, because often times diseases do not affect individuals until days after contamination.
- Many diseases are engineered in labs to be more powerful than their common counterparts.
- Inexpensive and easy to produce
- Can be aerosolized
- Survives sunlight, drying, heat
- Person-to-person transmission
Long Term Risk Factors:
- You might die.
- As stated above, many diseases are more powerful. That being said, you could become sick for much longer than anticipated.
- Powerful diseases can cause permanent damage to organs.
- No effective treatment or prophylaxis (sometimes)
- Cause lethal or disabling disease
Advances
Sources
• Minnesota Department of Health
Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control Divison.
Contact: (612) 676-5414 or (877) 676-5414
Online:
• Hooker, Edmond, MD, DrPH. "Biological Warfare." EMedicineHealth. Ed. William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.emedicinehealth.com/biochem-war.htm>.
• Danzig, Richard, JD, DPhil, and Pamela B. Berkowsky, MALD. Why Should We Be Concerned About Biological Warfare? N.d.