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COVER STORY: BIO-WARFARE
Tiny Germs Of Fear
An anthrax death leads to fears of biological warfare,
which seems surprisingly easy to launch
The death of tabloid
photo-editor Robert Stevens due to anthrax in Florida last week caused
panic among already edgy Americans. After two of his colleagues tested
positive for the disease and the FBI suspected foul play, the demand for
gas masks and antibiotics soared. The reason: anthrax, caused by bacterial
spores, is generally confined to farm animals and in rare cases, to people
coming in contact with them. If humans do contract the disease, it has
probably been introduced deliberately, believe investigators. Extremely
difficult to detect and devastatingly deadly, anthrax is one of the most
potent biological weapons in the world. It is the "poor man's nuclear
weapon". And Osama bin Laden's Al Qaida has "very likely acquired
biological and chemical weapons", say senior British Government officials.
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ANTHRAX ALERT: FBI agents in bio-hazard
suits outside Stevens' office in Florida
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Unlike other weapons, germs, the foot soldiers
of biological warfare, multiply quickly and spread over a wide area. In
10 hours, a single bacterium (Bacillus anthracis) can multiply into a
billion. And they can be grown without expensive equipment. Inhaling a
few thousand anthrax bacteria-that cover an area smaller than a full-stop-can
be lethal. And targeted delivery is easy. Anthrax bacteria survive for
long periods as spores. They can be sprayed over large areas by crop-dusting
aircraft, which, ominously, one of the hijackers had reportedly shown
an interest in. They can be sprayed over a localised area through an aerosol.
After the spores are inhaled, flu-like symptoms develop. The disease progresses
fast and the patient can slip into a coma and die. Immediate treatment
with antibiotics is effective, but by the time symptoms appear, it is
usually too late and 90 per cent of the patients die.
Apart from anthrax, the small pox, dengue, cholera
and Ebola viruses and the plague-causing bacteria figure in the World
Health Organisation's list of 50 organisms most likely to be used for
biological warfare. As in any epidemic, germs used for biological warfare
can spread through contaminated food and water. Fortunately, the water
treatment process kills many of these germs. But strains are surprisingly
easy to obtain from laboratories or medical research firms. And very few
labs have the stringent monitoring methods required.
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Anthrax, caused by the spore-forming Bacillus anthracis,
is one of the most potent biological weapons in the world.
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What can be done? The 1972 Biological Weapons
Convention-signed by 143 nations-bans the development or possession of
biological weapons, but 17 countries, including India, Russia and Iraq,
are suspected of possessing them. Regular monitoring to ensure compliance
would help prevent this. In the short term, stringent public health measures
are needed. In India, the Centre has asked state governments and Delhi
hospitals to keep sufficient quantities of vaccines and antibiotics. The
National Institute of Virology in Pune has been asked to upgrade its facilities
while the defence laboratory in Gwalior is conducting research on antidotes.
For all the apparent ease with which terrorists
can create and use biological weapons, some factors work against their
favour: once released, they are difficult to control and their impact
may not be as dramatic and as certain as crashing into the World Trade
Center.
—Supriya Bezbaruah
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