Biological Warfare

UPSC Exam Preparation: Topic of the Day – Biological Warfare

Biological Warfare (BW), also known as germ warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with the intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Biological weapons (often termed “bio-weapons”, “biological threat agents”, or “bioagents”) are living organisms or replicating entities (viruses, which are not universally considered “alive”) that reproduce or replicate within their host victims.

NBC is the military acronym for nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare using weapons of mass destruction. There is an overlap between biological warfare and chemical warfare, as the use of toxins produced by living organisms is considered, it may also be considered as bioterrorism. Entomological (insect) warfare is also considered a type of biological weapon.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is the nodal ministry for BW and partners with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in its management. MHA is responsible for assessing threat perceptions, setting up of deterrent mechanisms and providing intelligence inputs.

WHO contributes to global health security in the specific field of outbreak alert and response by:

• strengthening national surveillance programmes, particularly in the field of epidemiology and laboratory techniques;
• disseminating verified information on outbreaks of diseases, and also by providing technical support for response; and
• Collecting, analyzing and disseminating information on diseases likely to cause epidemics of global importance.

Key differences between Biological Warfare (BW) and Bio Terrorism (BT)

In BW, the primary target is generally a military one (such as an army), which consists of a reasonably homogeneous population of otherwise fit, healthy soldiers who have possibly undergone appropriate pre-attack vaccination. The time and place of the BW exposure is likely to be known, which allows a planned response that is based on the BW agent used, its known mode of spread and incubation time prior to onset of clinical disease. The primary objective with BW is massive destruction, or at least disruption, of enemy forces.

In comparison, the purpose of BT is not necessarily to cause mass casualties, but instead to generate social paralysis through mass terror, confusion and community disruption. The target is frequently a heterogeneous civilian population which includes the young, elderly, immunocompromised and healthy. For most BT agents, pre-attack vaccination of the population is either impossible or is complex and potentially associated with unacceptable complications (as with smallpox). Instead, vaccination against BT agents is likely to be implemented primarily as a therapeutic or public health measure to exposed individuals following an attack, as part of a containment response.

Read more ‘Topic of the Day’ and stay ahead of your competition.

Also Read: