Biological Warfare Agents Overview

Por Dr. Adolph Aid

Mestre em Proteção Contra Eventos CBRNE

“Although Biological Warfare Agents (BWAs) haven’t been used in open combat at least in the 20th century, however, they have been used in several combats throughout history. According to historians, BWAs were used for the first time thousands of years ago (1000 BC) by many populations, tribes, and armies who utilized decomposed and infected human and animal cadavers against each other. By throwing decomposed bodies inside wells and other sources of drinking water consumed by their enemies (disease transmission), by soaking their arrows, spears, and swords into decomposed bodies and then launching them toward their enemies, or even by catapulting infected corpses into sieged cities (Caffa, Crimea, 1346). BWAs are still an international threat and must always be taken into consideration although the BWA Convention entered into force in 1975. Some States, terrorist organizations, and lone wolf actors are still using BWAs to eliminate their adversaries (e.g., the Bulgarian dissident Giorgi Markov was assassinated in 1978 by a ricin projectile, the Rajneeshees in the US used salmonella to contaminate a salad bar in a small city in Oregon during elections in 1984, the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult who used anthrax spores in two different Japanese cities in 1994-1995, and in 2001 a few weeks after 9/11 anthrax letters were sent to the US Senate and journalists allegedly by Bruce Ivins.”

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