By: David Gonzales
What is Bioterrorism?
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A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate release of viruses,
bacteria, toxins or other harmful agents used to cause
illness or death in people, animals, or plants. These
agents are typically found in nature, but it is possible that
they could be mutated or altered to increase their ability to
cause disease, make them resistant to current medicines,
or to increase their ability to be spread into the
environment. Biological agents can be spread through the
air, water, or in food. Terrorists tend to use biological
agents because they are extremely difficult to detect and
do not cause illness for several hours to several days.
Some bioterrorism agents, like the smallpox virus, can be
spread from person to person and some, like anthrax,
cannot.
-According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Why do people use bioweapons
They are easy to obtain
 They are inexpensive
 They cause more fear and panic then
deaths
 They are easy to transmit from person to
person
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Biological Attack Indicators
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An unusual number of sick or dead people and animals within an area
or location
Large numbers of ill persons with a similar disease or syndrome
Large numbers of cases of unexplained diseases or deaths
Unusual illness in a population
Higher morbidity and mortality in association with a common disease or
syndrome or failure of such patients to respond to usual therapy
Single cases of disease caused by an uncommon agent
Several unusual or unexplained diseases coexisting in the same patient
without any other explanation
Disease with an unusual geographic or seasonal distribution
Illness that is unusual for a given population or age group
No illness in persons who are not exposed to common ventilation
systems (have separate closed ventilation systems) when illness is
seen in persons in close proximity with a common ventilation system
Unusual pattern of death or illness among animals that precedes or
accompanies illness or death in humans
Early History of Bioterrorism
In Ancient Rome, feces were thrown into
faces of enemies as an early form of
bioterrorism.
 In the 14th century the bubonic plague
was used to infiltrate enemy cities by
instilling the fear of infection in people.
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20th Century Bioterrorism
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1942 - Soviet Union- Battle of Stalingrad Soviet troops used a Tularemia bioweapon on
the German troops.
1984 - USA - Rajneeshee bioterror attack. In Oregon, followers of the Bhagwan Shree
Rajneesh attempted to control a local election by incapacitating the local population.
This was done by infecting salad bars in 11 restaurants, produce in grocery stores,
doorknobs, and other public domains with Salmonella typhimurium bacteria in the city
of The Dalles, Oregon. The attack infected 751 people with severe food poisoning.
However, there were no fatalities. This incident was the first known bioterrorist attack in
the United States in the 20th century.
1993 - Japan - In June the religious group Aum Shinrikyo released anthrax in Tokyo.
Eyewitnesses reported a foul odor. The attack was a total failure, infecting not a single
person. The reason for this was that the group used the vaccine strain of the bacterium.
The spores recovered from the attack showed that they were identical to an anthrax
vaccine strain given to animals at the time. These vaccine strains were missing the
genes that cause a symptomatic response.
1995 – USA - In Ohio a member of a white supremacist group, named Larry Harris,
ordered 3 vials of plague from the American Type Culture Collection catalog. Harris
designed his own stationery for the order but the company officials grew suspicious and
turned him in to the police.
1998 – USA – In Pomona, California 750 people were quarantined after police received
a call claiming that anthrax had been released in the Glass House a nightclub. It was a
hoax.
21st Century Bioterrorism
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2001 - USA - In September and October 2001,
several cases of anthrax broke out in the United
States in the 2001 anthrax attacks, caused
deliberately. Letters laced with infectious anthrax
were delivered to news media offices and the U.S
Congress. The letters killed 5. Tests on the anthrax
strain used in the attack pointed to a domestic
source, possibly from the biological weapons
program. Yet the attacks provoked efforts to define
biodefense and biosecurity, where more limited
definitions of biosafety had focused on unintentional
or accidental impacts of agricultural and medical
technologies.
Types of Bio-agents
The CDC has three Categories for Bio-agents
 Category A
 High-priority agents that pose a risk to national security, can be
easily transmitted and disseminated, result in high mortality, have
potential major public health impact, may cause public panic, or
require special action for public health preparedness.
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Category B
 Category B agents are moderately easy to disseminate and have
low mortality rates.
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Category C
 Category C agents are emerging pathogens that might be
engineered for use as bioweapons.
Category A type Bio-agents
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Tularemia
Anthrax
Smallpox
Botulinum Toxin
Bubonic plague
Ebola Virus
Marburg Virus
Lassa Virus
Machupo Virus
Category B type Bio-agents
Q Fever
 Glanders
 Brucellosis
 Salmonella
 E coil
 Ricin Toxin
 Psittacosis
 Melioidosis
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Abrin Toxin
 Typhus
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Category C type Bio-agents
Nipah Virus
 Hantavirus
 SARS
 H1N1
 HIV/AIDS
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