anthrax Essay -- essays research papers

Could some nonpareil use splenic fever for a larger attack on Ameri sack cities?Unfortunately, yes-and they could also use any of a series of separate germs, some more lethal than splenic fever. But its non easy to get anthrax, and its not easy to deploy. The Nipponese cult Aum Shinrikyo tried to spread anthrax from its Tokyo office construction in 1993 and failed dismally. Experts disagree on how dangerous it would be if someone sprinkled anthrax in, say, an office ventilation system or a subway car, but any larger attack would be hard to pull off.Which countries bewilder anthrax?Government officials say America no longer has a bioweapons program, although the military continues to use anthrax for defensive purposes such(prenominal) as vaccinum development. More than a dozen other countries may have programs that could get ahead anthrax, including big powers (Russia, China, India), distinctly unfriendly countries (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, North Korea, Cuba), and American allies (Israel, Egypt, siemens Africa, South Korea). More than 40 germ banks in the United States and almost the world supply anthrax for scientific research.Has anthrax been utilise as a weapon before?Yes. Germany tried halfheartedly to use it during World fight I. During World War II, most warring parties had biowarfare programs Japan used anthrax in China. During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union set(p) up large biowarfare programs. President Nixon banned the production and use of biological warfare agents in 1969. The Soviets carried on in 1979, an anthrax leak from a Soviet weapons plant killed more than 60 tidy sum.WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT splenic fever The discovery of anthrax in mail sent to government offices and password organizations has Americans worried. The good news is that the disease is rare. It is extremely unlikely that children would be subject to the disease. Junior Scholastic had these questions for U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satche r Q What is anthrax? A splenic fever is a disease caused by bacteria. It most commonly occurs in animals such as sheep or goats, but can occur in people exposed to the bacteria. Q How is it spread? A Anthrax is not contagious -- it cannot be transmitted from person to person. Infection can occur (1) if spores enter by dint of breaks in the skin (2) through inhaling anthrax spores and (3) through the digestive system. Q Is anthrax treatable? A Anthrax is very treatable. ... ...cades Ricin, another threat, is regarded as one of the decennium deadliest poisons known. There are no vaccines or antitoxins available for treatment of ricin exposure. Ricin was reportedly used in the assassination of Georgi Markov in London, in 1978, and an American, Tom Lavy, tried to import ricin into the United States in 1995. No doubt, ricin will appear again it is a protein easily extracted from one of the worlds most common crops, the caster plant, source of the more familiar Castor Oil. Other weap ons in the terrorist arsenal are as readily available. Anyone can still purchase fertilizer and fuel oil and concoct ANFO. many a(prenominal) biological and chemical agents can be produced or grown in simple laboratories with off-the-shelf equipment, such as refrigerators, separators, dryers, and fermentors. Nuclear bombs are not regarded by experts as an immediate threat because of the rarity of plutonium-239 and uranium-235. But other radioactive materials, such as cobalt-90, carbon-14, or cesium-137, are commonly used at industrial and medical sites. A chemical bomb tied(p) with radiological contaminants could create widespread social disruption and achieve the attackers rally goal terror.