Biological agents, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi, are potential weapons of mass destruction. They are lethal, difficult to control, and can cause long-term damage. While many nations have signed treaties to refrain from using them, research programs still exist. Counterterrorism programs monitor sales and laboratory safety to prevent attacks. Terrorists have not signed any agreements, making the threat of a biological agent attack a cause for concern.
Biological agents are viruses, bacteria and fungi that have potential applications in biological warfare or bioterrorism. A wide range of infectious agents could potentially be used as biological agents, and several nations have conducted extensive research programs to identify such agents and develop biological attack response methods. Like nuclear weapons and chemical agents, biological agents are considered weapons of mass destruction.
Several characteristics distinguish a biological agent from a normal infectious or pathogenic organism. Biological agents are often lethal and are highly effective, even in small quantities. They are also extremely difficult to kill and capable of dispersing widely and quickly over a large area. They can act in a variety of ways. Some release toxins that kill people and animals, while others attack the body in some way, causing nerve damage, acute bleeding, lung problems, diarrhea, and other symptoms.
There are a number of concerns about biological agents. The first is that the release of biological organisms is very difficult to control. If a terrorist releases anthrax in one country, for example, it could spread rapidly to nearby regions or be carried even further by the jet stream. Furthermore, biological agents do not distinguish between civilians, soldiers, friends and foes and can cause serious long-term damage, such as contamination of land and waterways.
Many nations have signed treaties agreeing to refrain from using biological agents in warfare and to destroy stockpiles of such agents. However, biological agent research programs are still thriving in many nations, with the argument being that people must be prepared for the deliberate or accidental release of a biological agent. The security of some programs has been called into question, especially in the wake of revelations of stolen biological material from laboratories in Russia in the late 20th century.
While the international community has agreed that the use of biological agents should be banned, the terrorists have not signed up to such an agreement, which is a cause for great concern. Some biological agents are very easy to obtain and grow, with laboratories around the world freely providing biological materials for research. As a result, terrorists could easily launch a biological agent attack on a target region of their choosing. Counterterrorism programs around the world have specific units to monitor the sales of various potentially dangerous organisms, and these programs also monitor laboratory safety in legitimate laboratories and perform routine screenings for biological agents on people and goods crossing international borders.
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