Bioterrorism as a Weapon of Mass Destruction

The Use of Disseminated Disease for Mass Casualties

May 13, 2009

Weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a term that has been thrown around very loosely over the past decade without much explanation beyond its ominous moniker.

What exactly have the American people been so concerned about? What is it that these rogue nations, or nations of concern, whatever the preferred nomenclature may be, are stock piling for an inevitable pending attack? Bioterrorism or the use of biological agents seems to be the most ambiguous and frankly terrifying type of WMD.

What are Biological Warfare Agents?

Biological warfare agents are microorganisms that cause fatal or incapacitating disease. This type of agent also includes “toxins” which are non-living poisons extracted from living plants, animals or bacteria. Where chemical weapons render effects almost immediately, biological weapons often have an incubation period of two days or more before the more serious symptoms present themselves.

Biological Warfare has a Long History

Biological weapons (BW) have been the most prevalent form of weapon of mass destruction and the most readily available to present day terrorist groups. BW is most generally defined as the use of disease for mass casualties. Historically this has been achieved by introducing a highly contagious disease into a large population. An early example occurred in 1347 when the Tartars catapulted plague casualties into the city of Kaffa (Ethiopia) to contaminate its inhabitants. The likelihood of this type of tactic is unfortunately high – the materials are not difficult to obtain with the appropriate funds and channels. Additionally, the contagious nature of the material not only spreads quickly and can cause significant casualties, the time that it takes to spread allows for a certain anonymity if so desired.

Biological Weapons are Rapidly Advancing

Rapid advances in biological science and technology are changing the nature of the threat presented by bioterrorism. Genetic engineering has made it possible to make existing biological elements more lethal and contagious. In addition to becoming more dangerous, biological elements can be made more resistant to detection and to treatment.

Biosecurity and Biosafety

The terms biosecurity and biosafety are often used interchangeably but they actually have very different meanings and uses. Biosecurity is the measure of aim to prevent deliberate use of pathogenic materials for malicious use while biosafety measures are intended to prevent accidental infections of researchers or the release of pathogens from research facilities. From a homeland security standpoint the issue at hand in the current national security climate is maintaining stringent biosecurity standards. Biosafety is a secondary safeguard enacted once weaponized pathogens have been identified.

In the realm of potential terrorist attack nuclear weapons may be at the top of the food chain in terms of power and scope. The fact remains that biological agents tend to generate similar fear levels based on the perceived ease through which an attack can be carried out in addition to the perception that biological attacks are by far and away the most sinister. Unfortunately, but rightly so, the image attached to a possible catastrophic attack on American soil is no longer a mushroom cloud, it’s a vile of hazardous material with a leaking rubber stopper standing between the US population and disaster.

Tucker, Jonathan B. ed. Toxic Terror: Assessing Terrorist Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons. Cambridge: Harvard University, 2001. Pgs. 3-5.

The copyright of the article Bioterrorism as a Weapon of Mass Destruction in Global Security is owned by Mark St.Amant. Permission to republish Bioterrorism as a Weapon of Mass Destruction in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.