The use of animal pathogens as biological weapon agents throughout recent history

摘要

This paper deals with zoonotic pathogens that have in modern times either been used, or were developed but not used, for biological weapons purposes. In this regard, four national biological warfare (BW) programmes are pertinent, those of Iraq, Japan,the United States and the Soviet Union. Examples of zoonotic pathogens that have been weaponised are Bacillus anthracis {B. anthracis), Yersinia pestis ( Y pestis), Brucella species, Burkholderia mallei andpseudomallei, Coxiella burnetii(C. burnetii), Francisella tularensis(F. tularensis), and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus (VEEV). It is important to note that while the Iraqi, Japanese, and United States BW programmes used classic applied microbiology techniques (mutation, selection and propagation), the Soviet programme also employed genetic engineering techniques for weaponisation purposes. The paper ends with a discussion of which pathogens are most likely to be weaponised in the future.