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The Secret of Selective Biological Agents: Why Are These Pathogens Considered a Major Threat?
Biological agents, also known as biological weapons or biological weapons systems, are pathogens used as weapons. These biological agents include not only living or replicating pathogens, but also toxins and biotoxins. To date, more than 1,200 potential weaponized biological agents have been described and studied. The human health effects of some biological agents range from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions and even death. Many of these biological agents are found ubiquitously in the natural environment, in water, soil, plants or animals.
Biological agents may have the potential to be "weaponized," making them easier to deploy or spread.
These pathogens could be genetically modified to enhance their lethal properties or make them immune to traditional treatments. Furthermore, because many biological agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources, they can pose a potential hazard in many occupational settings. The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention is an international treaty that prohibits the development, use or stockpiling of biological weapons and, as of March 2021, has 183 States Parties.
Classification of Biological Agents
Operation Category
The United States biological weapons program (1943-1969) classified weaponized anti-human biological agents as "lethal agents" (e.g., anthrax, Francisella, botulinum toxin) and "incapacitating agents" (e.g., Brucella Coxiella, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B).
Legal classification
Since 1997, U.S. law has declared a series of biological agents designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Department of Agriculture as having the potential to "pose a serious threat to public health and safety" to be formally defined as "selective Biological agents", the possession and transportation of which are strictly controlled. These selective biological agents are divided into "HHS selective biological agents and toxins", "USDA selective biological agents and toxins" and "overlapping selective biological agents and toxins".Regulatory categories
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies biological agents into three categories: A, B, and C. Category A biological agents pose the greatest threat to the United States, and their criteria include high morbidity and mortality, easy dissemination and transmission, the ability to cause public panic, and the need for special actions by public health officials to respond. Class A biological agents include anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, and viral hemorrhagic fevers.
List of biological agents of military importance
The following are pathogens and toxins that have been weaponized by one country or another. These include bacterial biological agents, viral biological agents, and toxins, all of which are important for military operations.
SimulantsA simulant is a non-pathogenic organism or substance that mimics the physical or biological properties of an actual biological agent. They are used to study the efficiency of various dissemination techniques or the risks posed by biological agents in bioterrorism use. To simulate diffusion, attachment, or penetration depth, the simulant must have particle size, specific gravity, and surface properties similar to those of the actual biological agent.
The typical size of the simulant is 1-5 microns, which allows it to enter building interiors through closed windows and doors and penetrate deeply into the lungs.
International regulations
Although the history of biological weapons use dates back to the Siege of Kaffa in 1346, international restrictions on biological weapons only began with the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which banned the use of chemical and biological weapons in international armed conflicts. The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention further prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological weapons. The agreement is seen as a major milestone in the global ban on biological weapons and the establishment of international security.
But its effectiveness is limited by a lack of adequate institutional support and the absence of any formal compliance verification mechanism.
Influence in popular culture
The concept of biological agents and a host of related themes have permeated popular culture, with biological weapons depicted in everything from movies to novels, reflecting humanity's fears and concerns about such technologies.
The potential threat of these pathogens does not only exist in science fiction stories, but also has a real impact on our society and security systems. As technology advances, how should we think about future applications and control measures for these biological agents?
