What is bioterrorism?

Bioterrorism is a form of terrorism that includes the deliberate introduction of biological substances into an environment or community to cause widespread disease and panic. Like other terrorist actions, bioterrorism is to create chaos and undermine morality and can be carried out by a single individual, a terrorist organization or even a national actor who wishes to use terrorist tactics to progress in political goals. As human knowledge has spread, the risk of bioterrorism has increased radically, especially because several unstable nations have reserves of biological substances that could be potentially appropriated and used by terrorist groups.

This form of terrorism is different from the biological war. Although both include the release of biological substances, the Biological War occurs on the battlefield or around it during a recognized military conflict. Terrorism is separated from its nature from the legitimate military conflict and overwhelms the asymmetric tactics that suggestedto undermine society or government. The use of viruses, bacteria and toxins in the war is forbidden by international law and boterrorism is also seriously prosecuted.

Many government agencies around the world have a department dedicated to research and prevent boterrorism. Biological agents are divided into three classes, A, B and C, based on virulence. Diseases such as smallpox are considered to be class A because they could spread quickly and kill many people, while class B agents such as glands are less virulent, and class C agents consist of things that could be potentially available because they are easily accessible.

The history of bioterrorism is ancient. One of the first recorded examples occurred in 600s BCE in Assyria when ergot was used to contaminate grain stocks. Using the bodies ofrague and smallpox victims to spread the disease were also documented throughout Europe and Asia at different timeshistory. Modern bioterrorism was significantly more dangerous due to progress in laboratory science. In the 20th century, the Japanese cult of Aum Shinrikyo attracted great attention when he released Ricin to the Tokyo metro and in the United States in 2001, a number of anthrax letters in 2001 caused extensive panic.

One of the major problems with bioterorism is that biological agents can spread gradually and incubate slowly, creating the potential of agent spread before people realize what is happening. Biological terrorism may also be difficult to identify at first, because medical staff and coercive authorities may not immediately realize what is happening when patients begin to seek medical attention. As a result, a well -timed and carefully planned attack, especially one that concerns genetically modified agents, Could Sow extensive panic, confusion, chaos and illness across the region or the whole nation.