Bacteriological weapons and protection against them. anthrax

With the words "anthrax" we first of all recall the fever of "postal terrorism" that swept many countries of the world in 2001-2002. Then, through the fault of unknown intruders, dozens of people were infected with the bacteria of this most dangerous disease, and some of them died. However, at the same time, not everyone remembers that exactly 30 years ago, in 1979, perhaps the largest incident in history occurred in the USSR associated with the mass infection of the population with anthrax bacilli in non-combat conditions. 64 people died from an unknown disease that spring in Sverdlovsk, the largest city in the Urals, according to published figures, but independent researchers believe that the actual death toll was in the thousands.

By the way, the secret services still have not finally established who in 2001 sent the powder with anthrax spores by mail - bin Laden's terrorists or a bacteriologist gone mad who decided to challenge the whole world. One way or another, one thing is absolutely clear for specialists: in our time, even a super-genius scientist is not able to single-handedly create combat strains of deadly bacilli, like anthrax, in order to then blackmail entire countries and continents with them.

Only a powerful, well-funded organization, whether terrorist or state, can do this. All the more so since until very recently the secret plans for conducting bacteriological warfare lay in the safes of the general staffs of many armies of the world.
This is how some foreign strategists imagined these invisible battles: “Anthrax, plague and smallpox bacteria entered the battle even before the official declaration of war. The population of the enemy state and the army of the enemy were seized with panic, especially since the "fifth column" financed by us deliberately aggravated the horror in the camp of the enemy and exaggerated the bacteriological danger with the help of the mass media.

At the culminating moment of the war, in addition to everything else, we used bacteria that caused the mass death of agricultural animals and plants. This led to the destruction of the entire food base of the enemy. As a result, the glorified army of our enemy, invincible in normal combat conditions, laid down its arms after two months, and the government was forced to accept very difficult surrender conditions for the country.

This is a quote from the article "Bacteriological Warfare", which was published in the late 50s of the XX century in the serious scientific publication "Journal of Immunology" ("Journal of Immunology"). American microbiologists J. Rosebery, G. Cabet and A. Boldt published it during the period of the greatest aggravation of relations between the USSR and the USA, without even assuming that at the very beginning of the 21st century, according to the scenario developed by them, some malefactors would begin "postal terror" against themselves United States, sending deadly powder in the most common envelopes and parcels...

Secret weapons of the past

However, it should not be considered that bacteriological warfare is an invention of the 20th century. It turns out that the very first mention of this terrible method of fighting against all living things can be found in ... Old Testament. For example, in the book Exodus, the Lord God threatens the enemies of the Jewish people chosen by him in this way: “I will bring a vengeful sword on you ... and I will send pestilence on you ...” (read - an epidemic). And in the "Book of the Prophet Jeremiah" it says: "And I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt as I punished Jerusalem: with the sword, famine and pestilence."

Of course, now all this can be perceived only as biblical legends. However, this is absolutely true historical fact. Since school bench we know that at the beginning of the 16th century the infamous Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro savagely destroyed the Indians South America. But only recently, from archival documents, it became known that fire and sword during that war seemed not enough to him: once, during negotiations, the Spaniards presented the Indians with clothes taken from smallpox patients. The epidemic thus caused in Peru and Chile alone claimed the lives of three million natives.

However, even 250 years after these events, the authorities of the North American States that had just formed at that time did not disdain to apply biological weapons against the natives of the continent. Not so long ago, historians discovered a curious correspondence between the commander of the American army and the commandant of the Fort Pitt fortress. The superior advised his subordinate the following: “Could you try to spread smallpox among the rebellious Indian tribes? Every means must be used to exterminate these savages." And soon, at the "peace" negotiations with the Indian leaders, American soldiers handed them two blankets and a handkerchief taken from the hospital for smallpox patients. A month later, the uprising of the Ohio Aboriginal tribes stopped by itself: by that time there was simply no one to rebel here ...

But all these were, so to speak, "spontaneous" experiments in the use of bacteriological weapons. It was only in the 20th century that the governments of the leading world powers fully realized all the “conveniences” that the controlled use for military purposes of the most terrible infections known to mankind at that time could bring. To develop biological preparations of this kind, at the beginning of the century, top-secret laboratories were created in many countries, where the best minds of biological science worked on the creation of new weapons under the close supervision of the military. The Hawks were not even stopped by the 1926 Geneva Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical and Bacteriological Warfare, which was signed by almost all major states. Previously closed archives also told about this.

Only a few will survive

However, something about the preparation of various states for the conduct of bacteriological warfare has already become known to us. Back in the 60s of the XX century, the British government removed the secrecy stamp from information about experiments with anthrax bacteria, which were carried out in 1940-1943 on the deserted rocky island of Greenard in the North Sea. Since then, not a single person can appear here without a special insulating suit, since it is mortally dangerous for him. Analyzes of soil samples, which microbiologists regularly collect on this piece of land to this day, show that even more than 60 years after those military experiments, anthrax bacteria remain viable and therefore may well cause a catastrophic epidemic.
But the information that such experiments were carried out not only in England, but also in the USSR, was allowed to be published in our open press only in perestroika times. It turns out that back in 1938, Soviet military microbiologists infected the entire soil with anthrax on the Vozrozhdeniye and Komsomolsky islands in the Aral Sea. Just like in England, from that time to this day, this deserted corner former USSR completely closed to the public. And here, as a result of an experiment that has been going on for 70 years, it was possible to prove that all this time the anthrax bacteria in the soil are able to maintain their pathogenicity.

However, experiments with anthrax on the islands Aral Sea turned out to be only a "touchstone" of the top secret work on the creation of vaccines, which, in the event of a bacteriological war against the USSR, had been carried out by Soviet military doctors since the 1930s. The anti-plague institutes officially existing to this day in Stavropol, Rostov and Saratov already at that time began to train specialists who, along with methods of combating especially dangerous infections, studied and striking properties the same plague, smallpox, anthrax, as well as many dozens of other terrible diseases.

In parallel with the institutes open to the press, there were completely secret biological centers where the possibilities of using the same infections in combat conditions were explored. Of these closed institutions, the most famous is the enterprise in Yekaterinburg (former Sverdlovsk), which in Soviet times appeared under the code name "mailbox A-1063" (it is also a secret plant number 19). Its fame is associated primarily with the tragic incident that happened here in April 1979.

Andrey Kuznetsov, a resident of Samara, born in 1956 (his name and surname have been changed for reasons that will be indicated below), in 1978, after graduating from the institute, he was called up for military service in the Armed Forces of the USSR and sent to one of the units of the construction troops stationed in Sverdlovsk. There he became an unwitting witness and at the same time a victim of an accident at a secret plant for the production of biological weapons. Here is his story.

“One morning, our lieutenant suddenly ran into the unit’s club. Seeing me, he shouted in a voice that was not his own: "Get ready immediately - and get vaccinated!" From the tousled look of the lieutenant, I understood that something extraordinary had happened. Therefore, he dropped everything and rushed to fulfill the order. I was in the forefront for the vaccination. In a specially equipped room, there were already five or six needleless pneumatic injectors that inject the vaccine into the human body directly through the skin. The soldier wiped his forearm with a cotton swab with alcohol, a second and - free. All soldiers who arrived on time were vaccinated very quickly.

What kind of emergency happened and where exactly, they didn’t explain to us then, but we didn’t ask. Only a few days later we heard talk of mass deaths in Sverdlovsk from an unknown disease. I immediately connected this news with universal vaccination. personnel our part. By the way, none of the soldiers of the construction battalion then died or even fell ill. But in a neighboring military unit, two soldiers died from the same mysterious disease. It was said that they did not have enough grafting material. And according to the information that reached us, more than a thousand people died in Sverdlovsk during these events.
I ask you not to indicate your first and last name anywhere. I have good reasons for this. The fact is that together with me, witnesses of all the events described above were three more soldiers, my fellow countrymen. So now I'm the only one left alive. Then I found out that two of my co-workers who were too talkative were still in Soviet time died suddenly
for an unknown reason, and a third mysteriously died in an accident."

Bacteriological disaster

The history of the emergence and activities of the secret plant No. 19 in Sverdlovsk is still covered with a dense veil of secrecy. According to some materials published by former military doctors and biologists, back in 1972, a secret decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR was issued on the creation in the country of advanced technology for the production of biological weapons. In accordance with this decree, several top secret facilities were created on the territory of the USSR at the same time, where various types of bacteria deadly to humans were being studied. In particular, on the territory of the Sverdlovsk military camp No. 19, a bacteriological weapon based on anthrax, a disease well studied by doctors, was created for several years.

Renaissance Island in the Aral Sea is still a dangerous zone

A leak of bacterial material from this facility occurred on the morning of April 3, 1979. According to published sources, this happened during the adjustment of a new installation in the drying shop. The reason was the errors of the workers made during installation. When the accident occurred, an aerosol containing anthrax bacteria escaped into the atmosphere through cracks in the ventilation system. As a result, a deadly cloud spread over Sverdlovsk, which subsequently caused the death of many people. It was a pulmonary form of infection, the rarest and most dangerous.

According to official figures, between April 4 and May 10, 1979, 64 people died in the city from direct exposure to bacteria. However, experts believe that in fact the number of deaths during this man-made epidemic was from several hundred to several thousand people. Firstly, the authorities tried to classify as much as possible all cases of death, more or less similar to anthrax. Secondly, the sources of infection in the city remained even after May 10, when the official disinfection was completed. After all, anthrax bacteria can be stored in a dry form for hundreds of years, and when they enter a favorable environment, they begin to multiply rapidly.

But this is not the most terrible conclusion: most likely, in 1979, at military enterprise No. 19, research was carried out not on the natural form of anthrax, but on its “enhanced” version, in which, thanks to genetic engineering methods, the lethal force was many times increased. Conventional vaccines are useless in the fight against this form of "Siberian" - a special one is needed, developed by the same specialists who brought out the deadly bacterium.

Unfortunately, the secret vaccine was not used for the mass treatment of Sverdlovsk residents in 1979. It was only enough for the soldiers of several military units, in one of which the hero of the above interview served. Let him say thanks to the lieutenant who sent him in time for vaccination ...

Valery EROFEEV
Secrets of the XX century №42 2009

Biological weapons have many disadvantages: their action is difficult to predict and control. There are also no guarantees that it is the enemy army that will suffer more losses. Therefore, biological weapons were most often used in history in a state of hopelessness and despair.

Plague, Kaffa fortress, 14th century

The first use of bacteriological weapons occurred in 1346, during the siege of the Crimean city of Kaffa (present-day Feodosia). Then the fortress was the largest trading post of the Republic of Genoa. Khan of the Golden Horde Dzhanibek entered the open war with the Genoese because of the increasing complaints that the merchants of the colony unscrupulously take into slavery the children of Tatar nomads who are starving due to natural disasters.
From the busy center of the slave trade, the city of Kaffa, the plague quickly spread through Europe, Asia and Africa.

The absence of a fleet did not stop the Golden Horde Khan in an effort to punish the greedy Genoese. But anger alone was not enough, the walls of the fortress were practically invulnerable to the Tatar attack. In addition, a plague began to spread in the ranks of the Horde warriors, further weakening the position of the attackers.

Then Dzhanibek ordered to chop up the body of a warrior who died of an infection and throw it into the city with a catapult. There was no turning point in the confrontation - the Horde was forced to retreat soon due to the final loss of combat capability. But for Kaffa, this event did not pass without a trace. The epidemic, which spread among the inhabitants of the Genoese colony, rapidly struck all the new large cities of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Thus began the plague pandemic or the Black Sea, during which more than half of the population of these territories died.

Smallpox against the Indians, 18th century

In 1763 the British troops found themselves in a difficult position. Having lost a significant number of soldiers and forts in battles with the Indians, the colonists also faced a smallpox epidemic. The disease raged at Fort Pitt, further weakening the position of the British.
Activist and entrepreneur William Trent, who was a captain during the siege, was the first to propose infecting the Indians with smallpox.

The native population of America did not have immunity to diseases brought from Europe, such as smallpox, typhoid, measles.

Blankets and clothes from the hospital where the sick British were staying served as a tool for implementing the plan. This tactic was agreed in writing between General D. Amherst and Colonel G. Bouquet. The contaminated items were handed over to two Delovar negotiators who paid a visit to the fort in June 1763. After this event, there were outbreaks of smallpox among the Indian population.

Native Americans were more vulnerable to this infection than colonists. Therefore, such an insignificant contact was enough for the spread of an aggressive virus. There is also evidence that later smallpox blankets continued to be given "as a token of respect" or sold to the Indians, which provoked the spread of the disease and a rapid decrease in their numbers.

Typhoid, plague and cholera - fighting bacteria from a Japanese laboratory

The Japanese approached the creation of bacteriological weapons consistently. Here a secret science Center under the direction of microbiologist Shiro Ishii, where strains of pathogens were developed. The causative agents of typhus, plague, cholera, which were cultivated in the laboratory, were modified in such a way as to cause maximum harm and quickly lead to death.

For the development of biological weapons, they tested prisoners of war.

Inhuman experiments were carried out on Chinese, Soviet and Korean prisoners of war.

The fact of the use of bacterial weapons in the battles against the Soviet Union and Mongolia in 1939 is known. Special detachments of suicide volunteers infected the Argun, Khalkin-Gol and Khulusutai rivers with several infections at once - typhoid fever, anthrax, plague, cholera. As a result, 8 people from the Soviet-Mongolian troops died from dangerous infections. The remaining 700 patients were helped. But the Japanese side suffered much more, after this event, the number of cases of typhus, cholera and plague exceeded 8 thousand people.

Another event in which bacteriological weapons were used was the Battle of Changde in 1941, during the Sino-Japanese War. Plague-infected fleas and grain were dropped onto the city and its environs from a plane - bait for rats. As a result, an epidemic broke out, which in 4 months claimed the lives of almost 8 thousand residents of Changde.

This event was the reason for the evacuation of the rest of the residents. The Japanese took control of the deserted city, which had been devastated by artillery fire during an optional siege.

Tularemia, 1942, the battle of Stalingrad

In the turning point battle with the Nazi troops on the side of the Soviet Union were field mice. The idea was this: the rodents delivered to the place of deployment German tanks, should have damaged the wiring in them and disabled them. In addition, mice are carriers of tularemia, a bacterial infection that causes fever and general intoxication. It rarely leads to death, but it is quite capable of taking the enemy out of a combat-ready state.

Mice were knocked out German technology and spread tularemia among German soldiers.

In early November 1942, before the upcoming offensive of the Red Army, the mice were sent to the operation. There was no need to specially train the rodents, they simply looked for heat and food, thus they climbed into the tanks and gnawed at the insulation of electrical circuits. A significant part of the tanks was indeed put out of action, and there were few sick tankers, the German doctors quickly established the cause of their illness.

Anthrax, 1944 Vegetarian Plan

At the beginning of World War II, W. Churchill prepared a plan for a large-scale defeat of Nazi Germany with anthrax spores. The name of the operation is Vegetarian. The causative agent of this disease remains viable, being in the soil, for a century, and maybe longer. Mortality from anthrax occurring in the gastrointestinal form is 60%.

Grunard Island, where biological weapons tests were carried out, is considered one of the dangerous places on the planet.

After the spread of pathogenic spores in pastures in Germany, impressive results were expected. Infection of agricultural livestock would lead to mass mortality and a food crisis. Also, millions of people were to suffer from the disease, half of whom would not survive. Another result is the unsuitability of the poisoned territories for human life for many decades.

Airplanes and contaminated bread were ready by 1944, but the British leadership did not give the order to implement the plan, since the course of the war had changed dramatically by that time. In 1945, infected blanks were destroyed in an incinerator.

The place where biological weapons were tested, the Scottish island of Grunard, was recognized as dangerous even for a short stay. And after the thorough measures taken in 1986, when the top layer of soil was removed and the rest soaked with formaldehyde, no one wants to settle and rest here.

Incredible Facts

At one time or another, people have tried to use every opportunity to find a new viable option for destroying each other. We have torn down forests, "turned over" religion, philosophy, science and even art in order to feed the desire of mankind to drink more blood from each other. Along the way, we have even constructed some of the most formidable viral, bacterial, and fungal weapons.

The use of biological weapons dates back to ancient world. In 1500 B.C. the Hittites in Asia Minor understood the power of a contagious disease and sent a plague to enemy lands. Many armies also understood the full power of biological weapons, leaving infected corpses in the enemy's fortress. Some historians even say that the 10 biblical plagues that Moses "summoned" against the Egyptians may have been biological warfare campaigns rather than acts of divine vengeance.

Since those early days, advances in medical science have led to a vast improvement in our understanding of how harmful pathogens work and how our immune system fights them. However, while these advances have led to the emergence of vaccinations and treatments, they have also led to the further militarization of some of the most destructive biological "agents" on the planet.

The first half of the 20th century was marked by the use by both the Germans and the Japanese of such biological weapons as anthrax. Further it began to be applied in the USA, Great Britain and Russia. Today, biological weapons are outlawed, as their use was banned in 1972 by the Biological Weapons Convention and the Geneva Protocol. But at a time when a number of countries have long since destroyed their stockpiles of biological weapons and stopped research on this topic, the threat still remains. In this article, we will look at some of the top threats from bioweapons.

10 Smallpox

The term "biological weapons" tends to conjure up mental images associated with sterile government labs, special uniforms, and test tubes full of bright liquids. Historically, however, biological weapons have taken much more mundane forms: paper bags full of plague-infected fleas, or even a blanket, as happened during the 1763 French and Indian War.

On the orders of Commander Sir Jeffrey Amherst, British troops brought smallpox-infected blankets to Indian tribes in Ottawa. Native Americans were particularly susceptible to the disease because, unlike the Europeans, they had not been exposed to smallpox until then, and therefore had no corresponding immunity. The disease "cut" the tribes like wildfire.

Smallpox is caused by the variola virus. In the most common forms of disease, death occurs in 30 percent of cases. Signs of smallpox are high fever, body aches, and a rash that develops from fluid-filled sores. The disease is predominantly spread through direct contact with the skin of an infected person or through bodily fluids, but can also be spread through the air in tight, confined environments.

In 1976, WHO led efforts to eradicate smallpox through mass vaccination. As a result, in 1977 it was recorded last case smallpox infection. The disease was virtually eradicated, however, laboratory copies of smallpox still exist. Both Russia and the US have WHO-approved smallpox specimens, but since smallpox has played its part as a biological weapon in several nations' special programs, it is not known how many clandestine stockpiles still exist.

Smallpox is classified as a Class A bioweapon due to its high mortality rate and also because it can be airborne. While a smallpox vaccine exists, generally only medical workers and military personnel are vaccinated, which means that the rest of the population is at potential risk if this type of biological weapon is used in practice. How can a virus be released? Probably in aerosol form, or even the old-fashioned way: by sending an infected person directly to the target area.

9. anthrax

In the fall of 2001, letters containing white powder began to arrive at the offices of the US Senate. When word spread that the envelopes contained spores of the deadly bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which causes anthrax, panic set in. Anthrax letters infected 22 people and killed five.

Due to its high mortality and resistance to environmental change, anthrax bacteria are also classified as a class A bioweapon category. The bacterium lives in soil, and animals that graze on it often come into contact with the spores of the bacterium while searching for food. A person can become infected with anthrax by touching the spore, inhaling it, or swallowing it.

In most cases, anthrax is transmitted through skin contact with spores. The most deadly form of anthrax infection is the inhaled form, in which the spores enter the lungs and are then transported by immune system cells to the lymph nodes. There, the spores begin to multiply and release toxins, which lead to the development of problems such as fever, breathing problems, fatigue, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Among those infected with the inhalation form of anthrax, there is the highest mortality rate, and, unfortunately, all five victims of the 2001 letters fell ill with this form.

The disease is extremely difficult to catch under normal conditions, and it is not transmitted from person to person. However, healthcare workers, veterinarians, and military personnel are routinely vaccinated. Along with the lack of widespread vaccination, "longevity" is another feature of anthrax. Many harmful biological bacteria can only survive under certain conditions and for a period of time. short period time. However, anthrax bacteria can sit on a shelf for 40 years and still pose a deadly threat.

These properties have made anthrax the "favorite" bioweapon among relevant programs around the world. Japanese scientists conducted experiments on humans using aerosolized anthrax bacteria in the late 1930s in occupied Manchuria. British troops experimented with an anthrax bomb in 1942, and in doing so they managed to contaminate the Greenard Island test site so thoroughly that 44 years later it took 280 tons of formaldehyde to decontaminate the soil. In 1979 Soviet Union accidentally released anthrax into the air, killing 66 people.

Today, anthrax remains one of the most famous and most dangerous species biological weapons. Numerous bioweapons programs have worked over the years to produce and improve anthrax, and as long as there is a vaccine, mass vaccination will only be viable if there is a mass attack.

8 Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

Another known killer exists in the form of the Ebola virus, one of a dozen different types of hemorrhagic fevers, nasty illnesses that cause profuse bleeding. Ebola made headlines in the 1970s when the virus spread to Zaire and Sudan, killing hundreds of people in the process. In the decades that followed, the virus maintained its deadly reputation, spreading in lethal outbreaks across Africa. Since its discovery, at least seven outbreaks have occurred in Africa, Europe and the United States.

Named for the region of the Congo where the virus was first discovered, the virus is suspected to normally live in its native African host, but the exact origin and range of the disease remain a mystery. Thus, experts were able to detect the virus only after it infected humans and primates.

An infected person transmits the virus to others through contact. healthy people with the blood or other secretions of an infected person. In Africa, the virus has performed particularly adeptly, as it is transmitted there through hospitals and clinics. Incubation period The virus lasts 2-21 days, after which the infected person begins to show symptoms. Typical symptoms include headache, muscle pain, sore throat and weakness, diarrhea, vomiting. Some patients suffer from internal and external bleeding. Approximately 60-90 percent of cases of infection end in death after the course of the disease for 7-16 days.

Doctors don't know why some patients recover faster than others. They also do not know how to treat this fever, since there is no vaccine. There is only one vaccine for one form of hemorrhagic fever: yellow fever.

Although many doctors worked to develop methods to treat the fever and prevent its outbreaks, a group of Soviet scientists turned the virus into a biological weapon. Initially, they faced the problem of growing Ebola in the laboratory, they managed to achieve more success in this field by cultivating the Marburg hemorrhagic fever virus. However, in the early 1990s they managed to solve this problem. While the virus is usually spread through physical contact with the secretions of an infected person, researchers have observed it spread through the air in a laboratory setting. The ability to "release" weapons in aerosol form only strengthened the position of the virus in class A.

7. Plague

The Black Death wiped out half the population of Europe in the 14th century, a horror that continues to haunt the world even today. Called the "big death," the mere prospect of the return of this virus sends people into shock. Today, some researchers believe that the world's first pandemic may have been hemorrhagic fever, but the term "plague" continues to be associated with another Class A biological weapon: the bacterium Yersinia Pestis.

Plague exists in two main strains: bubonic and pneumonic. Bubonic plague is usually spread through the bites of infected fleas, but can also be spread from person to person through contact with infected body fluids. This strain is named after the swollen glands in the groin, armpits and neck. This swelling is accompanied by fever, chills, headache, and fatigue. Symptoms appear after two to three days, and usually last one to six days. If you do not start treatment within 24 hours after infection, then in 70 percent of cases a fatal outcome cannot be avoided.

The pneumonic form of plague is less common and spreads by airborne droplets. Symptoms of this type of plague include high fever, coughing, bloody mucus, and difficulty breathing.

Plague victims, both dead and alive, have historically served as effective bioweapons. In 1940, there was an outbreak of plague in China after the Japanese dropped bags of infected fleas from planes. Scientists in several countries are still investigating the possibility of using the plague as a biological weapon, and since the disease is still found in the world, a copy of the bacterium is relatively easy to obtain. With appropriate treatment, fatal outcome in this disease is below 5 percent. There is no vaccine yet.

6. Tularemia

Death from infection with this infection occurs in five percent of cases. A small gram-negative rod is the causative agent of tularemia. In 1941, the Soviet Union reported 10,000 cases of the disease. Later, when the fascist attack on Stalingrad took place the following year, this number rose to 100,000. Most cases of infection were recorded on the German side of the conflict. Former Soviet bioweapons researcher Ken Alibek argues that this spike in infection was not an accident, but was the result of biological warfare. Alibek would continue to help Soviet scientists develop a tularemia vaccine until he fled to the US in 1992.

Francisella tularensis occurs naturally in no more than 50 organisms and is especially common among rodents, rabbits and hares. Humans usually become infected through contact with infected animals, insect bites, or ingestion of contaminated food.

Symptoms usually appear after 3-5 days depending on the route of infection. The patient may experience fever, chills, headache, diarrhea, muscle pain, joint pain, dry cough, and progressive weakness. Pneumonia-like symptoms may also develop. If left untreated, respiratory failure and death follow. The illness usually lasts no more than two weeks, but during this time infected people are mostly bedridden.

Tularemia is not transmitted from person to person, is easily treated with antibiotics, and can be easily avoided by getting a vaccine. However, this zoonotic infection spreads very quickly from animal to person and is also easy to catch if it is spread by aerosol. The infection is especially dangerous in aerosol form. Because of these factors, after the end of World War II, the US, UK, Canada and the Soviet Union began to work on making it a biological weapon.

5. Botulinum toxin

Take a deep breath. If the air you just breathed contains botulinum toxin, you won't know it. Deadly bacteria are colorless and odorless. However, after 12-36 hours, the first symptoms appear: blurred vision, vomiting and difficulty swallowing. At this point, your only hope is to get botulinum antitoxin, and the sooner you get it, the better for you. If left untreated, paralysis of the muscles occurs, and later paralysis of the respiratory system.

Without breathing support, this poison can kill you within 24-72 hours. For this reason, the deadly toxin is also classified as a class A biological weapon. However, if the lungs are given help and support at this moment, then the mortality rate immediately drops from 70 percent to 6, however, it will take time to recover, since the poison paralyzes the nerve endings and muscles, effectively cutting off the signal from the brain. For a full recovery, the patient will need to “grow” new nerve endings, and this takes months. Although a vaccine exists, many experts are concerned about its effectiveness and side effects so it is not widely used.

It is worth noting that this neurotoxin can be found anywhere the globe, especially a lot of it in soil and marine sediments. Humans are primarily exposed to the toxin as a result of tainted food, especially canned foods and meat products (such as canned fried mushrooms and fish).

Its potency, availability, and curative limitations have made botulinum toxin a favorite among bioweapons programs in many countries. In 1990, members of the Japanese sect Aum Shinrikyo sprayed a toxin to protest some political decisions, but they failed to cause the mass deaths they expected. When the cult, however, switched to sarin gas in 1995, they killed dozens and injured thousands.

4. Rice blast

Numerous biological organisms prefer cultivated food crops. Ridding cultures of their enemies is an important task for man, because without food, people will start to panic, unrest.

A number of countries, especially the US and Russia, have devoted much research to diseases and insects that attack food crops. The fact that modern Agriculture usually focused on the production of one crop only complicates matters.

One such biological weapon is rice blast, a disease caused by the deficient fungus Pyricularia oryzae. The leaves of the affected plant become grayish in color and filled with thousands of fungal spores. These spores multiply rapidly and spread from plant to plant, significantly impairing their performance or even destroying the crop. While breeding disease-resistant plants is a good protective measure, rice blast is a major problem because you need to breed not just one strain of resistance, but 219 different strains.

This type of biological weapon does not work for sure. However, it can lead to severe starvation in poor countries, as well as financial and other losses and problems. A number of countries, including the United States, use this rice disease as a biological weapon. By this time, a huge amount of a harmful fungus had been collected in the United States for potential attacks on Asia.

3. Rinderpest

When Genghis Khan invaded Europe in the 13th century, he accidentally introduced a terrible biological weapon into it. Rinderpest is caused by a virus that is closely related to the measles virus and it affects cattle and other ruminants such as goats, bison and giraffes. The condition is highly contagious, causing fever, loss of appetite, dysentery, and inflammation of the mucous membranes. Symptoms persist for approximately 6-10 days, after which the animal usually dies of dehydration.

For centuries, people have constantly brought "sick" cattle to various parts of the globe, thereby infecting millions of cattle, as well as other domestic and wild animals. Occasional outbreaks in Africa have been so severe that they have turned starving lions into cannibals and driven herders to commit suicide. However, thanks to a massive vaccination program, rinderpest has been brought under control in most parts of the world.

Although Genghis Khan came into possession of this bioweapon by accident, many modern countries such as Canada and the United States are actively researching this type of bioweapon.

2. Nipah virus

Viruses adapt and evolve over time. New strains emerge, and sometimes close contact between humans and animals allows life-threatening diseases to "jump" to the top of the food chain. With the constant increase in the number of people on earth, the emergence of new diseases is inevitable. And every time a new outbreak appears, you can be sure that someone is sure to begin to consider it as a potential bioweapon.

The Nipah virus falls into this category because it only became known in 1999. The outbreak occurred in a region of Malaysia called Nipah, infecting 265 and killing 105 people. Some believe that the virus naturally develops in the body of bats. The exact nature of the transmission of the virus is uncertain, but experts believe that the virus can be spread through close physical contact or through contact with the bodily fluids of a sick person. No cases of person-to-person transmission have yet been reported.

The illness usually lasts 6-10 days, causing symptoms ranging from mild, flu-like to severe, similar to encephalitis or inflammation of the brain. In some cases, the patient is characterized by drowsiness, disorientation, convulsions, moreover, a person may even fall into a coma. Death occurs in 50 percent of cases, and there is currently no standard treatment or vaccination.

The Nipah virus, along with other emerging pathogens, is classified as a class C biological weapon. While no country is officially investigating this virus for possible use as a bioweapon, its potential is wide and its 50% mortality rate makes it a must-watch virus.

1 Chimera Virus

What happens when scientists start digging into the genetic structure of dangerous organisms, redesigning it?

In Greek and Roman mythology, a chimera is a combination of the body parts of a lion, a goat, and a snake into one monstrous form. Late medieval artists often used this image to illustrate the complex nature of evil. In modern genetic science, a chimeric organism exists and contains genes foreign body. Given his name, you probably assumed that all chimeric organisms must be terrible examples of man's intrusion into nature to further his nefarious goals. Fortunately, this is not the case. One such 'chimera', which combines genes from the common cold and polio, could help treat brain cancer.

However, everyone understands that the abuse of such scientific achievements is inevitable. Geneticists have already discovered new ways to increase the killing power of biological weapons such as smallpox and anthrax by specifically tweaking their genetic structure. By combining genes, however, scientists can create weapons that can cause two diseases to develop at the same time. In the late 1980s, Soviet scientists worked on Project Chimera, during which they explored the possibility of combining smallpox and Ebola.

Other possible scenarios abuse is the creation of multiple strains of bacteria that require specific triggers. Such bacteria subside for a long period of time until they become active again with the help of special "irritants". Another possible variant a chimeric biological weapon is the effect of two components on a bacterium so that it begins to work effectively. Such a biological attack would not only lead to higher human mortality, but could also undermine public confidence in health initiatives, in employees humanitarian organizations and members of the government.

How dangerous is anthrax as a bacteriological weapon

Photos from open sources

To date, the situation is complicated by the presence of the pathogen in service with at least 5 countries, the selection of resistant strains that are resistant to antibiotics and difficult to treat

Original on Olga Golubovskaya's page Facebook

North Korea begins trials to install anthrax microbe on intercontinental ballistic missiles(ICBMs) that are capable of hitting the United States ( this information is disseminated by Japanese and American media with reference to intelligence South Korea, - ed.). At present, experiments have begun to prevent the death of the anthrax pathogen at high temperatures - more than 7000 degrees, and there is information that the country has already succeeded in this.

In late November, Kim Jong-un's scientists created their "largest" ICBM, which can have a "super-heavy nuclear warhead" and strike "the entire US mainland." Thus, North Korea "became a full-fledged nuclear power."

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Now about anthrax.

This is a zoonosis (the main source of infection is herbivores, which usually die from infection), in humans it often causes skin lesions, but there can also be severe septic, pulmonary forms, and infectious-toxic shock often develops. It is transmitted by contact through damaged skin and mucous membranes, air-dust transmission is also possible, and even transmissible (in the subtropics and tropics). People are a dead-end link in the circulation of the pathogen, because even with a pulmonary form, infection of others does not occur.

The causative agent can be in environment in the form of spores that can be used as biological weapons - the third group of biological hazards.

Many people still remember how in 2001-2002 the United States was seized by a "fever of postal terrorism", caused by a powder containing anthrax spores, then 22 people fell ill, five died. Large media agencies such as AMI were affected - they were forced to move, the disinfection of facilities cost more than $ 200 million, and the total damage was estimated at a billion. This situation caused a certain tense situation in our country as well - many officials were afraid to open their correspondence themselves.

Even earlier, in 1979, in the USSR closed from the world, perhaps the largest incident occurred associated with mass infection with anthrax bacilli in non-combat conditions - then in Sverdlovsk, according to official data, 64 people died, according to unofficial - thousands.

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The use of anthrax spores as a biological weapon is due to their ease of production, the possibility of "invisible" use and high efficiency: WHO experts calculated that 3 days after spraying 50 kg of spores over a two-kilometer zone in the direction of the wind towards a city with a population of 500,000 people there will be infection of 125,000 (25%) residents and 95,000 (!) deaths.

Anthrax is a common acute infectious disease of domestic animals and humans. The disease in humans is characterized by a high temperature reaction and the formation of specific carbuncles on the skin and mucous membranes, or the development of inflammatory changes in the lungs or intestines with bleeding symptoms. The causative agent of anthrax is a large bacillus with cut edges, as it were, that grows well in simple nutrient media. In the external environment, the bacillus forms spores. They retain their viability for a long time (in soil and water - for many months and even years). Anthrax spores are resistant to high temperature and disinfectants. They withstand 30 minutes of boiling in water, do not die in weak disinfectant solutions for up to 40 days, and even in strong solutions of disinfectants they can survive for an hour. Anthrax occurs in many countries of the world in farm animals (large and small cattle, to a lesser extent in pigs and horses). This infection was quite widespread among humans as well. In our country, after extensive veterinary and sanitary measures, anthrax is very rare.

A person can become infected with anthrax when caring for sick animals, contact with objects and agricultural products, skin, wool, infected with spores, eating infected meat. You can also become infected by inhaling dust containing spores of the pathogen. In the summer, you can get sick from the bite of horseflies and flies.

Anthrax, depending on the route of penetration of the pathogen into the human body, can be skin, pulmonary and intestinal forms. For the development of the skin form, 10 microbes are enough, and for the pulmonary form, 20 thousand spores are required to be inhaled (according to D. Rothschild).

Patients with anthrax, especially pulmonary and intestinal forms, are dangerous to others and are isolated. The disease begins 2-3 days after infection, sometimes after several hours, 8 days or later. Such fluctuations in the timing of the onset of the disease depend on the state of the body, the route of infection of a person and the number of microbes that have entered his body.

The cutaneous form of anthrax begins with the appearance of a red, itchy spot at the site of the introduction of microbes, it soon turns into a dense nodule. After a few hours, a bubble forms at the top of the nodule, gradually filling with bloody fluid. The bubble bursts, and a black crust appears in its place - an area of ​​dead skin. Around this place, new bubbles arise, which go through the same development cycle. This is how an anthrax carbuncle is formed. The skin around the carbuncle becomes inflamed and red, and there is a lot of swelling. Feature anthrax carbuncle - mild pain compared to the usual furuncle.

Simultaneously with the development of anthrax carbuncle, the temperature rises. In some patients, on the second day of illness, it reaches 40-41°C. The general condition of the body is severe. The patient has malaise, weakness, headaches, insomnia, and a dreary mood. With a favorable outcome after the sixth day of illness, the temperature drops to normal, the edema disappears, the carbuncle gradually resolves, the crusts fall off, the ulcer scars.

Anthrax carbuncle most often develops on open areas of the skin: on the hands, face, head. Anthrax of the cutaneous form without treatment ends in death in 5-15% of cases.

Pulmonary form of anthrax. Anthrax pneumonia develops when microbes enter the Airways. Previously, this form of anthrax was called woolworm disease. They became infected by inhaling the dust when breaking the wool contaminated with spores. This is a very severe form of the disease and proceeds with signs of severe poisoning by microbial poisons. It begins with chills and a rapid rise in temperature to 40 ° and above. At the same time, chest tightness, coughing, stabbing pains in the side, runny nose, lacrimation appear; voice becomes hoarse. Cough is accompanied by the release of liquid bloody sputum. Without treatment, the disease often ends in the death of the patient.

Intestinal anthrax occurs when it is transmitted by mouth. This form of the disease is characterized by severe inflammation. intestinal tract more often small intestines, ulcers are formed. The disease develops acutely: there are severe cutting pains in the abdomen, vomiting of bile mixed with blood, bloating, frequent bloody loose stools.

In the pulmonary and intestinal form, the body temperature is high and the disease often ends in death on the 3-5th day.

To prevent the disease in our country, a live anthrax STI vaccine developed by Soviet scientists is used. Vaccination is given to people and animals in areas where there are outbreaks of this disease. The vaccine provides good protection against this infection.

Anthrax patients are treated with penicillin or biomycin. Early initiation of treatment nice results. AT severe cases the patient simultaneously with antibiotics is administered anthrax therapeutic serum.