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Show ai" :'v.'-:'. - - -. TBI TUB O F T t KKP R ft. Phone: 66-7621 Features Editor: Paul Garcja The 'Cats meow What scares you the most about germ warfare? ' ; : i :: " ! V 1 "With terrorism you just think about the big cities getting hit, but with germ warfare it could spread. Even to little cities like Ogden." Penny Allen WSU student "The physical effects that it could have on my body ." Robert Cornellius WSU student 11 "I wouldn't know we had been attacked by germ warfare until it is too late." Victoria Rath HoIooIcaS marefare uses violent viruses By Megan Pease sr. features writer The Signpost It starts with a cough. High fever, headaches and loss of appetite soon follow. Within a week, death is a very real possibility. What may sound like an extreme case of influenza is, in fact, anthrax, the leading threat in the field of biological warfare and the most recent example of bioterrorism In the Beginning, There Were Germs The foundation of germ warfare lies in virology, the study of viruses. "Viruses are not cells, but infectious agents. They're intracellular parasites. They have to invade cells, and may cause those cells to become abnormal," said, Glenn Harrington a Weber State University microbiology professor. "Of course, in order to reproduce, they have to take over the machinery of the cell. They parasitize the cells, causing them to break down." One of the main reasons biological weapons can be so devastating is they are heavy-duty viruses. Like basic viruses they spread similarly, are treated essentially the same and have the capapacity to mutate. "Mutations are totally random. There's no way to predict them. People try, but predictions are often unreliable," said WSU microbiology professor Diane Home. Spreading Out Basic diseases generally spread one of two ways, according to Harrington. "Some spread through respiratory droplets or direct contact. Those are two ways certainly," he said. Biological agents, however, are spread primarily "by way of inhalation. Two main communicable weapons are smallpox and the pneumonic plague. Smallpox was a biological weapon in the French and Indian War, when British forces gave Native Americans infected blankets. Thought to be eradicated, routine vaccinations ceased around 1980. Since then, North Korea was identified as one possible country preserving smallpox cultures for use as a biological weapon against the now highly susceptible United States. The pneumonic plague is cousin to the bubonic plague, or the Black Death, which was responsible for wiping out a quarter of the European population in the Middle Ages. The pneumonic plague causes pneumonia. If not treated with antibiotics within 24 hours of symptom onset, death is highly probable. Plaguing Results Biotechnology produces what Robert H. Kuppcrman, co-director of Global Organized Crime Project, describes as horrifying outcomes. According to Kupperman, "If several kilograms of an agent like anthrax were disseminated in New York City today, conservative estimates put the number of deaths occurring in the first few days at 400,000." Robert P. Kadlec, Lt. Col. in the U.S. Air Force, said there would not only be illness, but mass-hysteria as the non-infected looked for protection. "Thousands of others would be at risk of dying within several days if proper antibiotics and vaccination were not started immediately. Millions of others would be fearful of being exposed and seek or demand medical care as well," Kadlec said . "Beyond the health implications, the potential panic and civil unrest created would require an equally large response. prompting the assistance of slate and federal agencies." .According to the Pasteur Institutes Stephen Cole, to infect one square kilometer u mild cost approximately S2.000 using coin entional weapons. SS00 using nuclear weapons. $600 using chemical weapons and SI using biological weapons. bssentiailv. ;mv nation with intermediate pharmaceutical capabilities V j if 1 S i 1 ; . , : j o C7 jf ct z o Rhett Crapo tests anti-biotic resistance to cholaform salmonella in the science lab. "Thousands of others would be at risk of dying within several days if proper antibiotics and vaccination were not started immediately. Millions of others would be fearful of being exposed and seek or demand medical care as well. Beyond the health implications, the potential panic and civil unrest created would require an equally large response, prompting the assistance of state and federal agencies." -Robert P. Kadlec Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Precautionary Tactics The U.S. Armed Forces has fought a primarily defensive war against biological agents. The army, for example, goes to lengthy measures to protect soldiers in the event of biological attack. "The Army requires all of its soldiers to undergo annual training on the wear and use of protective outerwear and protective mask," said Lt. Col. Jack Sturgeon. WSU professor of military science. "This is equipment that soldiers carrv with them when an attack is probable. Soldiers who are apt to deploy to regions where the use of biological weapons are probable are required to reccie anthrax vaccinations. The Arm' has a means of determining it contaminants arc in the area." Utah being attacked w i t h b i o 1 o g i c a I ii . innn r . nnlit;..lv 1 1 1 r ' ( 1 n said If a biological attack actually occurred, there are steps that can be taken; most of the major high-priority biological weapons have available vaccines. Because vaccination consists of six shots during a period of IS months, only military personnel and workers in high-risk fields - like postal workers arc eligible to receive anthrax vaccination. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the odds of contracting anthrax in the United States is about one in 300 million. Biological weapons are deadly ti h is available to warring nations. F.e't-acting and neailv undetectable. the mortality rates have the pi itential to be astronomical And it all starts w nh a couuh. Vol con rear l n-jinr'j-r Pcisc ;; rnlHw f,;(,-7(,. ' |
