A biological agent (also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon) is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, fungus, chemical, or toxin that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterrorism or biological warfare (BW).[1] In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and biotoxins 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 serious injury, as well as serious or permanent disability or even death. Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in the natural environment where they are found in aero, sewer, materials, chemicals, food/crops, water, soil, insects, small insectual parasites (mite flea misquitos maggot).[1] 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.[1]
The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is an international treaty banning the development, use or stockpiling of biological weapons; as of March 2021, there were 183 States Parties to the BWC.[2] Bio-agents are, however, widely studied for both defensive and medical research purposes under various biosafety levels and within biocontainmentfacilities throughout the world.
Bacterial bio-agents[edit]
Disease | Causative Agent (Military Symbol) |
---|---|
Anthrax | Bacillus anthracis (N or TR) |
Brucellosis (bovine) | Brucella abortus |
Brucellosis (caprine) | Brucella melitensis (AM or BX) |
Brucellosis (porcine) | Brucella suis (US, AB or NX) |
Cholera | Vibrio cholerae (HO) |
Diphtheria | Corynebacterium diphtheriae (DK) |
Dysentery (bacterial) | Shigella dysenteriae, 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[edit]
Disease | Causative Agent (Military Symbol) |
---|---|
Psittacosis | Chlamydophila psittaci (SI) |
Rickettsial bio-agents[edit]
Disease | Causative Agent (Military Symbol) |
---|---|
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[edit]
Disease | Causative Agent (Military Symbol) | Comments |
---|---|---|
Equine Encephalitis (Venezuelan) | Venezuelan Equine Encephalomyelitis virus (FX) | |
Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever (Marburg HF) | Marburg Virus (MARV) | by the Soviet Union[5] |
Smallpox | Variola virus (ZL) Petersen Smith |
Biological toxins[edit]
Toxin | Source of Toxin (Military Symbol) |
---|---|
Ricin | Castor bean (Ricinus communis) (W or WA) |
Saxitoxin | Various marine and brackish cyanobacteria, such as Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, Lyngbya, and Cylindrospermopsis (TZ) |
Staphyloccocal enterotoxin B | Staphylococcus aureus (UC or PG) |
Tetrodotoxin | Various marine bacteria, including Vibrio alginolyticus, Pseudoalteromonas tetraodonis (PP) |
Vector (Military Symbol) | Disease |
---|---|
Mosquito (Aedes aegypti) (AP) | Malaria, Dengue fever, Chikungunya, Yellow fever, other Arboviruses |
Oriental flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) | Plague, Murine typhus |
- Bacillus globigii (historically named Bacillus subtilis in the context of bio-agent simulants) (BG, BS, or U) bacillus globuli
- Serratia marcescens (SM or P)
- Aspergillus fumigatus mutant C-2 (AF)
- Bacillus thuringiensis (BT)
- Fluorescent particles such as Zinc cadmium sulfide, ZnCdS (FP)
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