Biological Weapons
Biological Weapons
The threat of a biological attack on American soil, has risen greatly since the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center. This paper will discuss the various types of biological weapons and there many ways of being distributed.
Anthrax is one of the oldest recorded diseases, being mentioned by Moses in Exodus 9:9. The earliest large-scale use of chemical warfare agents was in World War I. Both sides' used various tear gases in artillery and other projectiles starting in 1914, it was the German attack with chlorine released from thousands of cylinders along a four-mile front at Ypres on April 22, 1915, that started the massive use of chemicals, and started the chemical warfare we know now today. The wind-borne cloud totally broke the lines of the unprepared French Territorial and Algerian units in its path. Devastating epidemics of the disease are recorded by many medieval and modern writers. In the 18th and 19th centuries it sometimes spread like a plague over the southern part of Europe, taking a heavy toll of human and animal life. It was also the first infectious disease against which a bacterial vaccine was found to be effective, by Louis Pasteur in 1881. These discoveries led to the origin and development of the modern sciences of bacteriology and immunology. Anthrax is an organism that under certain conditions forms highly resistant spores capable of persisting and retaining their deadly capability in contaminated soil or other material for many years.
There are four main biological agents; Anthrax, Smallpox, Botulin toxin, and Ebola virus. Each has its own way of creating havoc and death wherever it may be found. Anthrax starts out as a spore but is very durable. If the spores or bacteria get into your lungs, they reproduce and create a toxin that can be fatal. Smallpox is the biggest concern of today. It has been eradicated since the 20th century but there are threats that terrorists have created a...
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