The New Straits Times, November 28, 1997
Q: In the recent stand-off between the United States and Iraq, much was mentioned about the development of biological weapons of mass destruction. Could you elaborate on this issue?
A: The use of biological agents in warfare is not entirely new.
Since early times, there have been records indicating the use of such agents induce diseases in the enemy's rank, although the technology is not as complex as the one used today.
However, as medical knowledge advances through the specific identification of diseases and mircobes, ironically the use of biological agents also gained merit.
By 1969, for example, it was reported that improvements in microbiology had allowed the US to develop its own biological weapons.
The USSR too was known to have carried out military training related to biological agents.
Further improvements in the fields of microbiology and virology recently have even made the development of such agents more sophisticated.
Typically, biological agents can have various origins: bacteria, rickettsia and viruses.
These agents could be manufactured with relative ease, using less advance technology.
The agent can then be 'delivered' by spray, shell, bomb or mounted on rockets and missiles, in the form of liquid suspension or as a powder, behind enemy lines.
The possibility of doing this is as real as the use of any conventional arsenal with the exception that no one has yet found out how to fully ward off such a biological attack.
The real, problem, thus, is in detecting the presence of such an agent in sufficient time so that protection from the contagion (like the use of mask and respirator) can be effectively implemented, especially for the public.
Unlike the use of certain chemicals, human senses are generally not sensitive enough to detect agents of biological origin.
Hence the impact of all these agents on human life is far more devastating and agonising.
For example, one of the agents suspected of being developed for the purpose of biological warfare is Bacillus anthracis. This bacteria can cause anthrax, an infectious disease normally affecting cattle, horses, sheep and goats.
When in contact with the body, however the bacteria can cause marked hemorrhage and serious effusions in the organs and cavities of the body.
Acute anthrax is fatal, with death occurring in a couple of days. Other forms are usually pulmonary, gastroenteric or intestinal and cutenous (skin) in nature.
Another is one that is similar to the food-borne toxin caused by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. The extreme toxic nature of this enterotoxin can result in a fatal condition called botulism.
It is characterised by a number of neurologic symptoms ranging from lassitude, weakness, blurred vision to difficulty with speech and swallowing. Later it can lead to neuroparalysis of the respiratory muscle and diaphragm, resulting in death by respiratory failure.
In the latter case, it is interesting to note that botulism has received much attention with respect to food-borne bacteria illness linked with improper processing of canned food, faulty containers, and inadequately prepared home food.
Apparently, only a small packet of bacterial growth is required to yield a toxic food product. All this goes to show that despite the UN convention banning production and use of biological weapons, it does not take much effort to develop biological weapons.
