A Historical perspective: Anthrax as a Biological Weapon

A Historical Perspective: Anthrax as a Biological Weapon

 

 

Author: Manisha Samy

 

What is bioterrorism? Although it has been a hot topic in politics and at the top of the agenda of national security efforts in recent years, the concept of bioterrorism is not new. It was only after the recent 2001 anthrax bioterrorism attacks in the US that the public at large became aware of the immense devastation of terrorist crimes utilizing biological agents. Due to the nature of the disease (causing cell necrosis, respiratory issues, inflammation among others depending on the form of anthrax), it is highly deadly if appropriate treatment is not given promptly. This requires proper detection and diagnosis. The beginning symptoms of anthrax disease can seem like influenza, allowing anthrax detection to go further unnoticed. Terrorist attacks are not simply confined to nuclear warfare, gunpowder, and hijacks; it can take the form of terror at the individual level utilizing disease-causing agents.

Media attention finally brought bioterrorism as a very real threat to the modern US world after the infamous 2011 attacks, and to no surprise at that given that they were the center of the attack. Twenty-two confirmed human cases of anthrax occurred in the eastern United States due to intentional exposure to B. anthracis spores (Wright). These spores were sent via mail in powder-containing envelopes to news media companies and US congressional leaders (Wright).  The goal for terrorist actions is to incite fear and chaos in a community, and that is exactly what was achieved in the 2011 attacks. From personal memory, fear struck the nerve of every American—afraid of opening any letter they might have received in the mail for fear of death by anthrax. Bioterrorism incites a pointed and invasive fear. It attacks each person on a personal, individual level. In the 2011 attacks, 20 of the anthrax cases occurred in mail handlers or people exposed to buildings where contaminated mal was processed or received (Wright). Although this event brought new hype and anti-bioterror initiatives in recent years, history shows that anthrax utilized as a biological weapon is not a new concept. Americans, and perhaps the world at large, just prove to have short-term memory.

The image above maps just a few ways of how B. anthracis has been a focus of offensive and defensive biological warfare research programs and bioterrorism attacks worldwide. In World War I, Germany used anthrax as a bioweapon against livestock and draft animals, World War II marked Japanese anthrax weapon field trials in Manchuria, and in fact numerous countries including the Unites States, United Kingdom, the former Soviet Union, and Iraq conducted anthrax weapon research during different times throughout WWII, the Cold War, and the decades that followed (Wright). 1976 marked an unintentional B. anthracis spore outbreak affecting 96 people when it was released from a military microbiologic facility in the Soviet Union (Wright). In a more recent setting, a religious cult named Aum Shinrikyo attempted to utilize B. anthracis spores as a weapon in Tokyo, Japan, albeit unsuccessfully (Wright). Although far and few between, the use of B. anthracis spores as a biological agent has been a part of global society and warfare for far longer than recent years. The very fact that there have been historic facilities devoted to the military research of such specimens illustrates both the intent to use it a biological weapon and the need to protect oneself from the threat of such a bioterror attack due to the potential devastation it can cause.

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Wright, Jennifer G., and Conrad P. Quinn. "Use of Anthrax Vaccine in the United States Rcommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2009." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 59.RR-6 (2009): n. pag. Print.