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Biological Warfare

The document discusses biological warfare agents and genetically modified foods. It outlines several biological agents that can be used as weapons, including anthrax, plague, brucellosis, Q fever, and smallpox. It notes their causes and symptoms. The document also discusses genetically modified golden rice, maize, and canola, and both the potential benefits of GM foods including pest and disease resistance as well as risks like allergic reactions and environmental concerns.

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Bakhtawar Shafique
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59 views7 pages

Biological Warfare

The document discusses biological warfare agents and genetically modified foods. It outlines several biological agents that can be used as weapons, including anthrax, plague, brucellosis, Q fever, and smallpox. It notes their causes and symptoms. The document also discusses genetically modified golden rice, maize, and canola, and both the potential benefits of GM foods including pest and disease resistance as well as risks like allergic reactions and environmental concerns.

Uploaded by

Bakhtawar Shafique
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Bioterrorism/Biological Warfare

Use of microorganisms and toxins as weapons

Biological Warfare Agents


• Microorganisms like virus, bacteria, fungi, protozoa or toxins produced by them
• Give rise to diseases in man, animals or plants, when deliberately dispersed in an area
• Can cause large-scale mortality, morbidity and can incapacitate a large number of
people in the shortest possible time and have adverse effects on human health
1. Anthrax
• Disease of humans and animals
• Caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis (gram -ve)
• Derives its name from the Greek word for coal “anthrakis” because it causes black coal
like skin lesions
• Human anthrax naturally occurs in three clinical forms
• Cutaneous anthrax: when spores come in contact with the skin and develop into black
lesions
• Gastrointestinal anthrax: occurs by the consumption of infected animal products and
undercooked/raw meat
• Respiratory anthrax: caused by the inhalation of spores through respiration
Thavaselvam et al., 2010
• Can be treated at earliest stages with penicillin (often delivered
intravenously), tetracycline, ciprofloxacin or doxycycline
2. Plague
• Infectious disease of animals and humans
• caused by the bacteria, Yersinia pestis (gram -ve)
• Millions of people in Europe, Asia and African continents died of
plague in the earlier centuries
• Humans get infected from the bite of rodent flea carrying the plague
bacteria or by handling an infected animal
•  Symptoms include, swelling of lymph nodes in groin and underarms
• Pneumonic plague: Bacteria reach the lungs and causes infection
3. Brucellosis
• Caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella (gram -ve)
• Known by several terms (including Malta fever, undulant fever,
Bang's disease, typhomalarial fever due to its resemblance to
malaria and typhoid fevers)
Thavaselvam et al., 2010
4. Q Fever
• Caused by Coxiella burnetii
• Comes from drinking water and cattle raw milk
• Characterized by Fever, cough, and chest pain
5. Variola (Smallpox)
• Also known as smallpox (Viral disease)
• Readily spread by person-to-person contact
• The Japanese Army explored weaponization of variola virus during
World War II
• Characterized by chills, fever, prostration, headache, backache, and
vomiting, as well as pustule formation Burrows et al., 1999

ELSI on Bioterrorism
• Innovative surveillance
• Detection and diagnostic tools and technology
• Scientific policy issues
• Bioterrorism-related legal needs and obstacles
Genetically Modified Crops

• Golden rice: A variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced


through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a
precursor of Vitamin A
• Maize: Insect-resistant (Bt maize; modified with protein
from Bacillus thuringiensis)
• Canola: Herbicide-resistant (gene derived
bacterium Agrobacteriumstrain and Ochrobactrum anthropi)

("Wikipedia", 2021)
Benefits
• Pest resistance
• Herbicide tolerance
• Disease resistance
• Cold tolerance
• Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance
• Nutrition Pharmaceuticals
• Phytoremediation (Whitman et al., 2000)

Potential Risks of GM Foods


Health risks associated with GM foods
• Alteration in nutritional quality of foods
• Resistance to antibiotics
• Potential toxicity (Zhang, C. et al., 2016)
• Potential allergenicity from GM foods

Environmental concerns

• Unintentional gene transfer to wild plants

• Possible creation of new viruses and toxins


(Zhang, C. et al., 2016)

Threat to crop genetic diversity

Religious, cultural, and ethical concerns

(Uzogara et al., 2000)


References
• Thavaselvam, D., & Vijayaraghavan, R. (2010). Biological warfare
agents. Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, 2(3), 179.
• Burrows, W. D., & Renner, S. E. (1999). Biological warfare agents as
threats to potable water. Environmental Health Perspectives, 107(12),
975-984.
• https://www.nap.edu/cart/download.cgi?record_id=10290
• Whitman, D. B. (2000). Genetically modified foods: harmful or
helpful?. CSA Discovery guides, 1-13.
• Zhang, C., Wohlhueter, R., & Zhang, H. (2016). Genetically modified
foods: A critical review of their promise and problems. Food Science and
Human Wellness, 5(3), 116-123.

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