Biological agent
A biological agent — also called bio-agent or biological threat agent — is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, or fungus that can be used purposefully as a biological 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 human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, including death. Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in the 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.
Classifications
Operational
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).
Legal
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.[4]
Regulatory
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 US. Criteria for being a Category A agent include high rates of morbidity and mortality; ease of dissemination and communicablitily; ability to cause public panic; and special action require by the public health field to respond. Category A agents include anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers.
List of biological and toxin agents of military importance
Bacterial bio-agents
| Disease | Causative Agent (Military Symbol) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Anthrax | Bacillus anthracis (N) or (TR) | |
| Brucellosis (bovine) | Brucella abortus (AB) | |
| Brucellosis (caprine) | Brucella melitensis (AM) or (BX) | |
| Brucellosis (porcine) | Brucella suis (US) or (NX) | |
| Cholera | Vibrio cholerae (HO) | |
| Diphtheria | Corynebacterium diphtheriae (DK) | |
| Dysentery (bacterial) | Shigella dysenteriae, some species of Escherichia coli (Y) | |
| Glanders | Burkholderia mallei (LA) | |
| Listeriosis | Listeria monocytogenes (TQ) | |
| Melioidosis | Burkholderia pseudomallei (HI) | |
| Plague | Yersinia pestis (LE) | |
| Tularemia | Francisella tularensis (SR) or (JT) |
Chlamydial bio-agents
| Disease | Causative Agent (Military Symbol) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Psittacosis | Chlamydophila psittaci (SI) |
Rickettsial bio-agents
| Disease | Causative Agent (Military Symbol) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Q fever | Coxiella burnetii (OU) | |
| Rocky Mountain spotted fever | Rickettsia rickettsii (RI) or (UY) | |
| Typhus (human) | Rickettsia prowazekii (YE) | |
| Typhus (murine) | Rickettsia typhi (AV) |
Viral bio-agents
Mycotic bio-agents
| Disease | Causative Agent (Military Symbol) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Coccidiomycosis | Coccidioides immitis (OC) |
Biological toxins
| Toxin | Source of Toxin (Military Symbol) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Botulinum toxins (A through G) | Clostridium botulinum bacteria or spores, and several other Clostridial species. (X) or (XR) | |
| Ricin | castor bean (Ricinus communis) (W) or (WA) | |
| Saxitoxin | various marine and brackish cyanobacteria, such as Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, Lyngbya, and Cylindrospermopsis | |
| Staphyloccocal enterotoxin B | Staphylococcus aureus (UC) or (PG) | |
| Tetrodotoxin | various marine bacteria, including Vibrio alginolyticus, Pseudoalteromonas tetraodonis (PP) | |
| Trichothecene mycotoxins | various species of fungi, including Fusarium, Trichoderma, and Stachybotrys |
Biological vectors
| Vector (Military Symbol) | Disease | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Mosquito (Aedes aegypti) (AP) | Malaria, Dengue fever, Yellow fever, other Arboviruses | |
| Oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) | Plague, Murine typhus |
Simulants
- MR - molasis residium
- BG - Bacillus globigii
- BS - Bacillus globigii
- U - Bacillus globigii
- SM - Serratia marcescens
- P - Serratia marcescens
- AF - Aspergillus fumigatus mutant C-2
- EC - E. coli
- BT - Bacillus thuringiensis
- EH - Erwinia hebicola
- FP - fluorescent particle
References
- ^ "Biological Agents". United States Department of Labor: OSHA. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- ^ "Biological Agents". United States Department of Labor: OSHA. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- ^ "Biological Agents". United States Department of Labor: OSHA. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- ^ Additional Requirements for Facilities Transferring or Receiving Select Agents, Title 42 CFR Part 72 and Appendix A; 15 April 1997 (DHHS).
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