Bioterrorist Threat in the US - Essay Example

The advancements in the field have led to the creation of more sophisticated agents that can be applied efficiently. This essay reviews factors or characteristics that make bacteria, viruses, and fungi effective agents of bioterrorism.

Terrorists value biological weapons due to their ability to cause mass panic among the people. Moreover, such threats cause massive disruption in the operation of a country making terrorists achieve their target. Bacteria are free-living microscopic organisms that are known to occupy extreme habitats. These organisms have no cell membrane and most of the other organelles are found in ordinary cells. This makes it complex to identify effective agents or medicine to deal with such organisms. Bacterium such as anthrax are highly contagious and, hence their application in biological warfare. Moreover, anthrax causes high mortality due to its low incubation period. Anthrax bacteria also transform into spores to survive extreme conditions such as high temperatures, extreme radiation, and lack of water or nutrients. Such characteristics make the bacteria indestructible and, hence an effective warfare agent.

Viruses are cellular organisms that thrive as parasites in other living cells. Unlike bacteria and fungi, viruses are not considered living organisms since they lack the nucleic acid replication mechanism that is present in other single-celled organisms such as bacteria. When viruses occupy a living cell, they interfere with normal cell metabolism, causing the death of the cell. Infected cells release a protein compound known as Cytokines in response to the attack. This agent is responsible for the resultant symptoms. However, it is difficult to differentiate between viral and cell processes. This makes it difficult for scientists to develop anti-viral medicines. Viruses are effective agents of biological terrorism since they are easy to transport and disseminate (Block, 2001). In particular, viral agents can be transported in aerosol form making them attractive to terrorists. The Chimera virus is a potential viral agent for biological weapons. The viruses are generated by injecting genetic materials of other viruses into smallpox viruses through genetic engineering (Block, 2001). This makes the virus more evasive to scientists who might attempt to develop curative therapies for the induced infection.

Fungi are non-photosynthetic primitive plants capable of attacking living cells. The organism produces exo-enzymes that digest cell membranes of living cells. Infected cells respond by releasing warning agents to adjacent cells as a warning against the intrusion. This is usually detected as disease symptoms. Fungi are propagated through spores, which are easy to manufacture and disseminate. For instance, the fungus that causes Foot and Mouth Disease can be developed in a laboratory environment (Paquette, 2006). The fungi spread easily across domestic animals hence interfering with animal product production and supply. The fungi can be used to cause widespread panic and economic disruption (Milanovich, 1998). Farmers and dealers of animal products in affected countries are forced to dispose of their animals or products.

In conclusion, biological terrorism still poses a major threat to the US and its allies. Biological agents such as bacteria and viruses can be produced and spread easily making them appropriate for terrorism. Moreover, people fear the impacts of such agents, thus making them attractive to terrorists. Read More