Theoretical and Theoretical and methodical bases methodical bases of epidemiology of of epidemiology of extreme situations. extreme situations.

Definition of Definition of military military

epidemiologyepidemiology

Рісture 1. When loaded with diseased bodies, wood-frame catapults were biological weapons.

Рісture 2. Gen. Jeffrey Amherst, in a letter dated 16 July 1763, approved the plan to spread smallpox to Delaware Indians.

Рісture 3. After the war, cavalries were trained to expect attacks with chemical and biological weapons.

4. The Japanese army used Chinese prisoners to test bioweapons. (These particular men may not have been subjects.)

Рісture 5 Weapons production at Fort Detrick, Maryland, the U.S. Army's base for biowarfare research.

Рісture 6. During Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. military feared that Scud missiles might contain biological agents.

Рісture 7. The Aum Shinrikyo cult claimed tens of thousands of members.

ChinaSignatory state to the Biological Weapons Convention

Bioweapons status: Believed to secretly possess offensive bioweapons program

Possible agents: Unknown

Egypt Bioweapons status: Known to be actively researching biological agents for offensive and defensive programs

Possible Agents: Anthrax, botulinum toxin, plague, cholera, tularemia, glanders, brucellosis, melioidosis, psittacosis, Q fever, Japanese B encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, influenza, smallpox, mycotoxins

IndiaSignatory state to the Biological Weapons Convention

Bioweapons status: Known to be actively conducting biological weapons defense research

Possible agents: Unknown

PakistanSignatory state to the Biological Weapons Convention

Bioweapons status: Probable research and development of bioweapons

Possible agents: Unknown

IranBioweapons status: Known to be actively researching and possibly producing offensive biological weapons

Possible agents: Unknown

Iraq Signatory state to the Biological Weapons ConventionBioweapons status: Previously actively researching and producing biological weapons. Highly likely to be continuing bioweapons program today.Possible agents: Anthrax, botulinum toxin, gas gangrene, aflatoxin, trichothecene, mycotoxins, wheat cover smut, ricin, hemorrhagic conjunctivitis virus, rotavirus, camel pox

Signatory state to the Biological Weapons Convention

Bioweapons status: Conducting defensive bioweapons research, possibly working beyond legitimate defense activities to offensive activities

Possible agents: Anthrax, tularemia, brucellosis, plague, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, typhus, Q fever, botulinum toxin, smallpox, glanders, Marburg infection, Ebola, Machupo virus, Argentinian hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, Lassa fever, Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis, Japanese encephalitis, Russian spring-summer encephalitis, psittacosis, rinderpest, African swine fever virus, wheat stem rust, rice blast

Russia

An anthrax-tainted letter, while able to kill and spread terror,is not the most dangerous anthrax weapon.

C. botulinum produces the potent nerve toxin that causes botulism.

Incubation period before symptomsGenerally 12-72 hours Symptoms nausea and vomiting (occurs in natural cases when bacteria are ingested; may not appear if purified toxin is spread on food) difficulty speaking, seeing, and/or swallowing drooping eyelids muscle weakness starting in the trunk and moving to the limbs muscle paralysis and difficulty breathing How it would be spreadAerosol or food. The disease is not contagious.

In cases of cholera,comma-shaped bacterialodge in the small intestines,causing inflammation anda slew of related symptoms.

Incubation period before symptoms12 hours - 5 days Symptoms severe diarrhea, vomiting, and weakness leg cramps rapid fluid loss that can lead to shock How it would be spreadFood or water. It is not contagious with proper hygiene.TreatmentRehydration is essential. A variety of antibiotics shorten the course of illness and reduce its severity.

Incubation period before symptoms1-14 days

SymptomsGeneral symptoms:

fever and headaches muscle aches, muscle tightness, chest pain

Other symptoms vary according to how the organism enters the body -- through the skin, eyes, nose, or respiratory tract -- but include:

pustular lesions that develop 1-5 days after bacteria enter breaks in the skin

swollen lymph nodes tearing of the eyes, light sensitivity increased mucus in the eyes, nose, and respiratory

tract pneumonia

How it would be spreadAerosol. Human-to-human transmission is possible, but the

disease is not considered highly contagious.

Glanders

Allied cavalries, such as this Belgian convoy, may have been the target of glanders attacks

in World War I.

Incubation period before symptoms2-3 weeks

Symptoms high fever, chills, and throbbing headache profuse sweating visual and auditory hallucinations pneumonia hepatitis

How it would be spreadAerosol or food. Human-to-human transmission is rare.

TreatmentEven untreated, most people with Q fever will recover.

Treatment with a variety of antibiotics shortens illness and results in fewer complications.

Q Fever

Sheep and other livestock could be the source of Q-fever for bioterrorists as well as the target of terrorist attacks.

The Black Death of the 14th century was only one of three great plague pandemics that killed tens of millions of people.

Incubation period before symptoms1-6 days

Symptomsfever, chills, headache, weakness nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain extreme lymph node pain (bubonic) chest pain, cough, bloody or watery sputum

(pneumonic) septic shock

How it would be spreadAerosol or person-to-person. Pneumonic plague is

contagious through respiratory droplets.Treatment

A variety of antibiotics can treat the disease but must be given soon after symptoms appear. Antibiotics given immediately after exposure may prevent disease onset.

Plague

Incubation period before symptoms10-14 days

Symptoms high fever headache, backache, and vomiting rash (pox) on the face and arms that spreads to the trunk

How it would be spreadAerosol or person-to-person, potentially by a terrorist-"martyr."

It is highly contagious. However, smallpox victims show clear signs of the disease, and anyone who came in contact with them could be vaccinated post-exposure.Treatment

There is no current treatment against the smallpox virus. Vaccination given 3-5 days post-exposure can prevent the disease.Vaccine

Vaccine exists but is currently not recommended for the general public. Stockpiles of vaccine are being increased. No one in the U.S. has been vaccinated since 1972, and people vaccinated before then have likely lost immunity.

Smallpox

While highly infectious,smallpox carries clear signs that mayprevent the spread of an epidemic.

Incubation period before symptoms1-14 days. Following a terrorist attack, cases would likely be reported in 3-5 days. SymptomsVarious forms of the disease all begin with the sudden onset of flu-like symptoms:

fever, chills, headache, cough, and lethargy Additional symptoms depend on the form but include:

swollen and sore lymph nodes skin ulcers red and sore eyes abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting pneumonia

How it would be spreadAerosol or food. Human-to-human transmission has not been documented.Treatment

Early antibiotic therapy is effective, and if started within 24 hours of exposure, may prevent disease. A variety of antibiotics can be used, although some antibiotics may be powerless against strains genetically engineered to be resistant.

Tularemia

Deer flies can carry tularemiaand cause natural casesof human infection.

Antibiotic-resistant anthrax. Plague-Ebola hybrids. Soviet researchers used genetic engineering to try to create such "superbugs" in the

1980s. What could defend against them?

Could a single vaccine guard againstan onslaught of various different germs?

Fragments of "naked DNA" from pathogens are today being tested as a new form of vaccine.

Recent biotechnology allows the "re-shuffling" of genes to make

proteins unknown in nature -- and of potential use in battling germs.

Sprays are now available to decontaminate workers cleaning

up hazardous materials. Someday aerosol vaccines might

protect people before, or immediately after, a bioweapons

attack.

Defense researchers in the 1960s struggled to make devices that

could rapidly detect and analyze germ attacks. Today mobile labs,

such as Idaho Technology's RAPID, pinpoint germs in

minutes.