Symbols

As stated by one of the Micro students (2015) in the “Outbreak” write up … “Ebola (or any other pathogen) is a threat because it takes away from your … –Peace of Mind” …

Anthrax

Can be inhaled –LUNGS Can be on skin –CUTANEOUS Digestive System –GUT

Cholera

CHOLERA Diarrhea / SEVERE Nausea Vomiting Dehydration

Cholera Camp

Clostridium botulinum Botulism is a rare but serious bacterial paralytic illness; nerve toxin produced There are three types: –Foodborne : by eating foods that contain the botulism toxin. –Wound botulism: is caused by toxin produced from an infected wound –Infant botulism is caused by eating the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow in the intestines and release toxin.

All forms of botulism can be fatal Foodborne botulism can be especially dangerous because many people can be poisoned at one time; by eating a contaminated food

Ebola

EBOLA – “Hot Topic”

In the News …

TOTAL Deaths from Ebola: as of 2/13/ = 785 in one month (since 1/16/15)

Ebola Outbreak ~ 11,000 deaths from outbreak last year (as of January 31, 2016) 14-west-africa/case-counts.htmlhttp:// 14-west-africa/case-counts.html

Glanders anders-detected-at-2016-olympic- equestrian-facilitieshttp:// anders-detected-at-2016-olympic- equestrian-facilities

Plague 3 types: 1)Bubonic Plague 2)Pneumonic Plague 3)Septicemia

Q-Fever Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by a species of bacteria that is throughout the world Cattle, sheep, and goats are the primary reservoirs Infection has been noted in other animals, including domesticated pets.

Q-Fever high fevers ( ° F) severe headache, myalgia (muscle soreness all over ) chills, sweats, non-productive cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and chest pain. Fever usually lasts for 1 to 2 weeks. Weight loss can occur and persist for some time.

Q-FEVER 5/s htm (Australia) 5/s htm –~ 17 minutes (we probably won’t watch all of it)

Ricin

Ricin History Before: 2002, Ricin was best known for its use in the assassination of a Bulgarian dissident during the Cold War. Modern terrorists: Ricin; from the castor bean is and odd choice –it does not survive long in outdoor conditions –it is not easily transferred through the human skin. January 2003; London police found traces of the substance and production equipment during a terror raid on a local apartment.

Ricin Less than a pinch of Ricin ingested into the human body would cause nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding = liver failure Near certain death within 72 hours from the collapse of multiple organs. There is no known antidote, and it can be weaponized as a powder, mist, or pellet. It can even be dissolved into drinking water

Saxitoxin

When people consume these contaminated shellfish, they very quickly feel the effects of the toxin, a syndrome known as paralytic shellfish poisoning. Death will usually occur within 2-12 hours in untreated cases. There is no cure. A type of Protist: Dinoflagellate

Saxitoxin History It has been involved in covert government operations and in chemical warfare. Saxitoxin is about 1000 times more toxic than a typical synthetic nerve gas such as sarin, and it is not surprising that in the 1950s, the CIA began experimenting with it, reportedly using it in suicide capsules provided to its agents

Smallpox

What is tularemia? Tularemia, also known as “Rabbit Fever” –is a disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. Tularemia is typically found in animals, especially rodents and rabbits.

Tularemia is usually a rural disease and has been reported in every state except Hawaii. Bite of infected insects –most commonly, ticks and deerflies –by handling infected sick or dead animals –by eating or drinking contaminated food or water –by inhaling airborne bacteria.

Are we concerned about tularemia being used as a bioweapon? It is highly infectious. A small number of bacteria (10-50 organisms) can cause disease. People who inhale the bacteria can experience severe respiratory illness, including life-threatening pneumonia and systemic infection, if they are not treated.

Tularemia

Chemical Weapons

Sarin Sarin is a human-made chemical warfare agent classified as a nerve agent. Clear, colorless, tasteless, odorless Sarin is also known as GB

How Sarin Works… Symptoms appear within a few seconds up to 18 hours after exposure All the nerve agents cause their toxic effects by not letting the nerves & muscles to “switch OFF”

Japan Subway Sarin Attack In March 1995, the Aum Shinrikyo sect killed 12 people and injured nearly 6,000 by releasing sarin nerve gas in the Tokyo subway system.

VX VX is a human-made chemical warfare agent classified as a nerve agent. Nerve agents are similar to pesticides

VX was first developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1950s. VX is odorless and tasteless. VX is an oily liquid that is amber in color and slow to evaporate. It evaporates about as slowly as motor oil.

Can last for days or months on objects …because it evaporates so slowly

VX

Mustard Gas – “HD” Sulfur mustard is a thick liquid at room temperature Often called mustard gas. It is colorless and odorless, but when mixed with other chemicals, it looks brown and has a garlic-like smell

Mustard Gas Mustard Gas has been used in chemical warfare / in the Iran-Iraq war in It was reported that The U.S. Department of Defense was supposed to have destroyed all remaining stocks of sulfur mustard by 2004.

Phosgene = “CG” Phosgene is a chemical used to make plastics and pesticides. It is colorless or is a white to pale-yellow cloud.

Lewisite = “L” Lewisite is a chemical warfare agent. It is a vesicant or blistering agent = causes blistering of the skin and mucous membranes. Lewisite has an odor like geraniums.

Lewisite Lewisite was produced in 1918 to be used in World War I, but it was too late to be used in the war. Lewisite has been used only as a chemical warfare agent; there is no medical or other practical use.

2012

USAMRIID

Includes a military and civilian staff of 750 include: –microbiologists –physicians –veterinarians –pathologists –chemists –virologists, nurses, etc.

USAMRIID collaborates … … with the CDC, the NIH, the World Health Organization = WHO, the Department of Energy, the FBI Other teams specialize in rapid response to investigate disease outbreaks anywhere in the world and can evacuate patients under BSL-4 isolation

CDC - Atlanta

CDC Regions

CDC - History Founded in 1946 to help control malaria CDC has remained at the forefront of public health efforts to prevent and control infectious diseases and other health threats

Biopreparat - Vektor Russia Created in 1973, Biopreparat was originally designed as pharmaceutical research but became a front for bioweapons activity. Though no research was done there, Alibek (from Bioterror video) said, the site could hold clues to work done at other locations

Russian Equivalent Biopreparat-Vektor In the late 1980s, Vector was reportedly devoted to the development and production of viruses as weapons. This research is said to have included work on the Marburg virus putting it into warheads Work reportedly also done on loading warheads with smallpox virus, bubonic plague, and anthrax.

Vektor Institute Vektor had some 4,500 scientists working on bioweapons in 1990, author Richard Preston told Congress in It also is supposed to be holding Russia's samples of smallpox virus -- supposedly only one of two such sample sets in the world.