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A biological agent—also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon—is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, or fungus that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterrorism or biological warfare (BW).[1] In addition to these living and/or replicating pathogens, biological toxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kinds of potentially weaponizable bio-agents have been described and studied to date.
Biological agents have the ability to adversely affect natural environment where they are found in water, soil, plants, or animals.[2] Bio-agents may be amenable to "weaponization" to render them easier to deploy or disseminate. Genetic modification may enhance their incapacitating or lethal properties, or render them impervious to conventional treatments or preventives. Since many bio-agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for propagation, they are also a potential danger in a wide variety of occupational settings.[3]
The Biological Weapons Convention (1972) is an international treaty banning the use or stockpiling of bio-agents; it currently has 165 state signatories. Bio-agents are, however, widely studied for defensive purposes under various biosafety levels and within biocontainment facilities throughout the world. In 2008, according to a U.S. Congressional Research Service report, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Taiwan were considered, with varying degrees of certainty, to be maintaining bio-agents in an offensive BW program capacity.
The former US biological warfare program (1943-1969) categorized its weaponized anti-personnel bio-agents as either Lethal Agents (Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, Botulinum toxin) or Incapacitating Agents (Brucella suis, Coxiella burnetii, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, Staphylococcal enterotoxin B).[4] In the next section ("List of biological and toxin agents of military importance") the military symbols for various weaponized agents are given; this nomenclature system began in the US and UK BW programs of World War II and continued as NATO nomenclature through the Cold War.
Since 1997, United States law has declared a list of bio-agents designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Department of Agriculture that have the "potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety" to be officially defined as "select agents" and possession or transportation of them are tightly controlled as such.[5] Select agents are divided into "HHS select agents and toxins", "USDA select agents and toxins" and "Overlap select agents and toxins".
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) breaks biological agents into three categories: Category A, Category B, and Category C. Category A agents pose the greatest threat to the U.S. Criteria for being a Category A agent include high rates of morbidity and mortality; ease of dissemination and communicability; ability to cause public panic; and special action required by public health officials to respond. Category A agents include anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers.
Anthrax, Smallpox, Nuclear warfare, Bioterrorism, Toxicology
Biological warfare, 2001 Anthrax Attacks, Philippines, United Kingdom, Bacillus
Biological warfare, United States, Terrorism, Aum Shinrikyo, 2001 Anthrax Attacks
/ia, Occupational safety and health, Anthrax, Biological warfare, United States Department of Health and Human Services
Artificial intelligence, Life extension, Computer science, Science fiction, Technology
Anthrax, United States Army, United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps
Anthrax, Federal Bureau of Investigation, September 11 attacks, Biological warfare, New York City
United Kingdom, United States, Maryland, Australia, Germany
South Carolina, Anthrax, Biological warfare, United States, Biological agent