Biological Weapons

Recognizing, Understanding, and Responding to the Threat

Kristy Young Johnson, Paul Matthew Nolan

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781119085317
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Terrorism
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Gives readers a detailed understanding of how specific biological weapons work and how those affected by the weapons would be treated

• Teaches the reader to recognize the symptoms of each biological weapon and understand the threat these weapons pose
• Concentrates on the weapons considered the greatest threats by the CDC such as Anthrax, Botulism, Smallpox, Ricin toxin, Ebola, Plague, and Viral encephalitis
• Provides a detailed understanding of how specific biological weapons work and how to recognize the symptoms of those affected by the weapons as well as how they would be treated
• Includes case studies, chapter review questions, and the instructor's supplemental materials include PowerPoint presentations, a Test Bank, and suggestions for student projects
• Begins with a primer on microbiology, the human immune system's response to these biological agents, and the defense agencies involved with protecting the public against these agents

UNIT IV

VIRUSES

A biological weapon made from a virus is likely the most potentially devastating type of biological weapon. Many viruses can spread via aerosol routes, making it easy to expose a large number of people in a short period of time. Antibiotics do not work on viruses, and there are often no effective treatments for those infected. Worse, viruses can be extremely contagious, spreading from person to person by contact, or sometimes just by proximity. This trifecta of easy dissemination, difficult treatment, and rapid spread makes viruses the most deadly of all the biological weapons.

“Virus” is derived from the Latin word for “poison,” but perhaps a word for “pirate” or “hijacker” would have been more appropriate. Viruses sneak into body cells, effectively hiding from the immune system. A virus then takes control of an infected cell, forcing it to use all available materials to generate new virus particles or virions. The cell ceases to do its regular job and essentially becomes a virus-producing zombie. Newly made virions will be released from the cell to infect other cells and continue the hijacking process; sometimes, the production of virions is so prolific that the host cell literally bursts.

Data on how these viruses affect humans can be difficult to obtain because clinical studies of their effects on humans would be exceedingly unethical. In the case of smallpox, no other species is naturally infected by the virus; primates must be exposed to extremely high doses of smallpox to develop even mild symptoms, so data gathered from animal studies may not equate to human results. In such cases, information on human infections is gathered only during natural outbreaks. Because different outbreaks may differ significantly in severity, numbers such as mortality rates are presented as ranges rather than absolute numbers.

Viruses are also prone to frequent mutation, and one virus family might contain several genetically similar yet different strains. These virus “cousins” usually produce the same type of symptoms but may vary considerably in severity and mortality rates. Another conundrum of virus research is the fact that even the same strain of a virus can affect different people in profoundly different ways. Someone in good health with a strong immune system will probably survive a case of smallpox, but any weakness in the immune system could mean certain death from smallpox. A substantial portion of the human population lives with a compromised immune system every day. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, immunosuppressive medications, smoking, stress, old age, and even sunburn are known to weaken the immune system, and the mortality rate for viral weapons in these groups would be devastating.

Of all biological weapons, the viruses arguably pose the greatest threat. They are the least understood, the most unpredictable, and often the least treatable type of weapon. Many of them do not produce symptoms for days or weeks following infection, and the initial symptoms are often vague and flu-like, further delaying detection of a biological attack. It seems unlikely that any government would be foolish enough to implement a viral weapon, but there is strong evidence that viral weapons have been developed and may be stored in multiple countries.

CHAPTER 11
EBOLA

[The following case study is based on a report in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Chevalier et al., 2014).]

Thomas Eric Duncan was glad to step off the plane in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, September 20, 2014. After flying from Liberia with layovers in Brussels and Washington, D.C., he had had his fill of airports and airplanes both. It had been awhile since he'd visited his family in Dallas, and life in Liberia was getting downright scary with the panic over Ebola. Just five days earlier, he had ridden with a neighbor named Marthalene in a taxi to the hospital in Liberia. Marthalene was pregnant and really sick; the hospital was so busy that it was faster to take a taxi than to wait for an ambulance. A lot of good it did her though; that was the last taxi ride she'd ever take. Marthalene wasn't the first person Thomas had known who had died from Ebola. But now, thank goodness, he had escaped the Ebola hubbub and was finally safe in Dallas.

At 45 years old, Thomas took a few days to get over his jet lag, but he felt fine until that Wednesday, September 24^th, when he got one doozy of a headache and some wicked stomach cramps. The next morning, he started to run a slight fever, and the headache and cramps just got worse; his girlfriend drove him to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital around 10:30 Thursday night. On arrival, his fever was 37.8°C (100.1°F), and it climbed to 39.4°C (102.9°F) within just a few hours. He mentioned that he was from Liberia, but the doctors were pretty sure his headache was nothing serious, probably just a bad case of sinusitis. They gave him some Extra Strength Tylenol™ and a prescription for antibiotics and sent him home.

At first, the Tylenol™ helped a little with the headache and the fever, but by Sunday morning, they were both back in full force. To make matters worse, he woke up that morning to frequent bouts of diarrhea. He wasn't sure he could make it to the hospital without another episode along the way, so his girlfriend called an ambulance. His fever was 38.6°C (101.4°F) when he arrived at the hospital; this time, the doctor took one look at his travel history, immediately isolated him, and ordered tests for Ebola. The results came in two days later, by which time Thomas had gotten much sicker. Over the next week, the medical team administered fluids to fight dehydration and tried everything they could to stabilize him, but he began to hemorrhage internally and died on Wednesday, October 8th, 2014, two and a half weeks after he thought he'd escaped the threat of Ebola.

Within a few days, two of Thomas's nurses at the hospital fell ill with Ebola. Both had been careful to use masks, gloves, and gowns while they treated Thomas, and neither one was aware of any direct contact with any bodily fluids. Both nurses survived their bouts with Ebola, but their cases raised concern about just how easily this particular strain of Ebola could spread.

Agent: Ebola virus

C...