PUBLIC HEALTH

BIOTERRORISM – A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE

August 6, 2022

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BIOTERRORISM – A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE

Sonali Padha *1 , Omer Mohi U Din Sofi *2

1.Division of Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology, Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, R.S. Pura, Jammu, 181102

2.Division of Veterinary Parasitology, Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, R.S. Pura, Jammu, 181102

INTRODUCTION :

GERMS DON’T RESPECT BORDERS, SO BIOLOGICAL THREATS—MANMADE AND NATURALLY OCCURRING—CAN QUICKLY HAVE GLOBAL IMPACTS.

Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release of biological agents. According to US, Centers for Disease Control, Bioterrorism is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. The main aim of bioterrorism is to harm people, animals and plants by causing death, so as to achieve political or social destruction.

The virulence and ability of Bioterrorism agent to cause a disease can be increased through creating mutations in that agent and are designed in such a way that the current medical treatments are unable to cure and they can be easily spread .

HISTORY :

The use of biological agents is not a new concept, and history is filled with examples of their use.

The Hittites sent diseased rams (possibly infected with tularaemia) to their enemies to weaken them.
The use of arrows for the transmission of plague is suggested by some documents such as paintings.
During the French and Indian War in the 18th century AD, British forces gave blankets that had been used by smallpox victims to the Native Americans in a plan to spread the disease.
During World War first , the German Army developed anthrax, glanders, cholera, and a wheat fungus for use as biological weapons.
During the Second World War, there were reports that the Japanese armies dropped rice and wheat mixed with agent carrying fleas intended to spread plague in China.
In 2001, anthrax was delivered by mail to S. media and government offices. Over 22 people infected with anthrax and five of them died.

DELIVERY OR DISSEMINATION OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS :

Through the air by aerosol sprays

Through food or water

In explosives

Absorbed through or injected into the skin

TYPES OF AGENTS :

The S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has classified the viruses, bacteria and toxins that could be used in an attack into three categories as :

CATEGORY A :

These high-priority agents pose a risk to national security. They

can be easily disseminated or transmitted from person to person;
result in high mortality rates and have the potential for major public health impact;
might cause public panic and social disruption; and
require special action for public health preparedness.

Examples include :Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis),Botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin), Plague (Yersinia pestis), Smallpox (variola major), Tularemia (Francisella tularensis), Viral hemorrhagic fevers, including Filoviruses (Ebola, Marburg), Arenaviruses (Lassa, Machupo)

CATEGORY B :

These are second highest priority agents include those that:

are moderately easy to disseminate.
result in moderate morbidity rates and low mortality rates .
require specific enhancements of CDC’s diagnostic capacity and enhanced disease surveillance.

Examples include : Brucellosis (Brucella species),Epsilon toxin of Clostridium perfringens, Food safety threats ( Salmonella species, E coli O157:H7, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus), Glanders (Burkholderia mallei), Melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei), Psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci), Staphylococcal enterotoxin B, Q fever (Coxiella burnetii),Ricin toxin from Ricinus communis (castor beans), Abrin toxin from Abrus precatorius (Rosary peas), Typhus (Rickettsia prowazekii), Viral encephalitis (alphaviruses,: Venezuelan equine encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis, western equine encephalitis), Water supply threats (for example, Vibrio cholerae, Cryptosporidium parvum)

CATEGORY C :

These agents are emerging pathogens that might be engineered for mass dissemination because of :

their availability,
ease of production and dissemination,
high mortality rate, or ability to cause a major health impact.

Examples include : Nipah virus, Hanta virus, SARS, MERS-CoV and other highly pathogenic human coronaviruses, H1N1 and other influenza viruses, Tickborne hemorrhagic fever viruses including Bunyaviruses (including Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome virus and Heartland virus) and Flavivirus (including Omsk Hemorrhagic Fever virus, Alkhurma virus, Kyasanur Forest virus),Tuberculosis including drug-resistant TB, Rabies virus, Prions, HIV/AIDS virus

WAYS TO COMBAT BIOTERRORISM:

It is the need of the hour to frame strategy and policy to take preventive actions and to mitigate any bioterrorist attacks.
The evidence of attack is the appearance of the symptoms of the disease caused by the exposure of an agent or informed by reliable sources.

PILLARS OF BIOTERRORISM RESPONSE:

INDIA’S PREPAREDNESS AGAINST BIOTERRORISM ATTACK:

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Govt. of India (GoI) has proposed a model, where participation of both government and private sectors is a prerequisite for management of biological disaster.

In India, there are several nodal ministries for dealing with epidemics caused by bioterrorism.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH and FW) is one of the main ministries dealing with epidemics. It also provides directions and technical support for capacity building in surveillance and in the early detection of any outburst.
The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is actively engaged in developing protective systems and equipment for troops to fight against nuclear, biological and chemical warfare.

The following are some proposed recommendations to combat bioterrorism attack in India:

Development of rehabilitation centres and financial assistance to affected individuals.
Development of e-learning modules on methods to combat bioterrorism.
Judicial involvement of media and internet for community awareness and preparedness.
Encourage interested citizens to register and get trained to be a part of national disaster management teams in addition to Indian Army.
Mass level immunization can offer protection to populations at risk.
Prophylactic measures should be lawfully enforced; otherwise it would cause massive destruction due to rapid spread of infectious agents which usually have very less cell doubling time.

Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) :

This convention opened for signature on 10 April 1972; came into force on 26 March 1975.

The BWC bans: the development, stockpiling, retention, and production of:

Biological agents and toxins “of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes;”
Weapons, equipment, and delivery vehicles “designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict.”

The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) currently has 184 states-parties, including Palestine, and five signatories and India is a signatory of the convention.Ten states have neither signed nor ratified the BWC (Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Israel, Kiribati, Micronesia, Namibia, South Sudan and Tuvalu)

The Ninth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 28 November to 16 December 2022.

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