McKenzie Piper | Capstone Outline | 12 April 2018

Purpose: to determine the scale of the bioterror threat

Working Thesis: Increased research, awareness, and preparation is necessary to effectively gauge the bioterror
threat and secure public safety regarding exposure to biological pathogens.
Historical Context | Early Records | Timeline | Recent Accounts
Thesis Relevance: provides context for how long bioterrorism has been an issue and how many attacks have
occurred.
1. General info/definitions
2. First account of biological warfare: 600 BC
a. “filth and cadavers” which yielded “devastating effects and weakened the enemy” (Riedel)
3. Siege of Caffa 1346
a. Tartars threw dead plague victims into the city
b. Italians fled Caffa, bringing the plague to various Mediterranean seaports and contributing to the
international epidemic
c. Though vulgar and crude, this biological warfare attack is consistent with the technology present
at that time, and it serves as one of the earliest accounts of how deadly disease was used as a
weapon. The Tartars may have been the first to utilize the plague as a weapon, however
strategies such as these, along with polluting wells and other water sources, continued into the
20th century in conflicts across the globe.
4. Smallpox 15th Century
a. Pizzaro “presented South American native with variola-contaminated clothing” (Riedel)
i. Variola = smallpox
5. French and India War mid-1700s
a. Sir Jeffrey Amherst, commander of the British forces, deliberately infected the hostile native
population to diminish resistance in Fort Pitt by ordering subordinate officer, Captain Ecuyer, to
gather blankets from the smallpox hospital and gift them to the Native Americans. (Riedel)
th
6. 20 Century U.S.
a. United States military developed and tested biological weapons from 1949 to 1969 in Biological
Warfare Laboratories based in Camp Detrick, Maryland where they “weaponized several
biological agents” among these were anthrax and botulinum toxin. (History of Vaccines)
b. Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention 1975
i. International treaty ratified by over 100 countries
ii. Soviet Union ratified, but U.S.S.R. officials claimed that they destroyed these materials
in the late 1980s, yet they kept production capabilities in tact until at least the 1990s.
(History)
7. September 11, 2001 Attacks
a. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.vcu.edu/stable/pdf/4236667.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:d493fed7a
5c5e795c8fdd71a23c8827c
8. Anthrax Outbreak in Namibia 2017
a. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41558385
How it Works | Science | Medicine
Thesis Relevance: establishes scientific groundwork for understanding the lethalness of anthrax specifically
since it is the most popular/common/well-known bioterror agent.
1. Properties of the bacteria (Bacillus anthracis)
 a. Forms endospores  able to manifest in non-living conditions and withstand extreme climates
i. Ready to re-germinate into its active state as soon as it reaches a “friendly climate”
(Schoenfelder)
b. Virtually no time limit  can survive approximately thirty-six years in its dormant state and be
just as viable when activated
2. Human Reaction to contact with Bacillus anthracis (Goodsell)
a. Cannot be transferred from person to person
i. Any form of contact with an affected person is safe (skin to skin, airborne, fluid)
b. Most commonly contracted from a product (inanimate) or animal (consumption)
c. Most fatal form is inhalation
d. Spores composed of three exotoxins are lodged into skin or lungs
i. The first part of the toxin is the protective antigen. This is the delivery mechanism that
finds cells and delivers the next two parts of the trio: the edema factor and the lethal
factor. These components are the fatal ones that attack whichever cells the protective
antigen seeks out for them.
e. Protective antigen seeks out weakest cells to attack
i. The protective antigen, like in most other bacterium such as ones that cause cholera and
whooping cough, does not scour for the healthiest cells. Rather, it determines the weakest
cells to which the other factors of the bacteria will be the most effective and therefore
damaging.
f. Anthrax is deadlier than cyanide
i. Whereas a single anthrax molecule can be the cause of death, one cyanide molecule
matches one protein molecule of its host.
3. Long term psychological effects
i. http://nointervention.com/archive/military/ABC/sarin_tokyo/97june3.htm
ii. https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/ajp.156.10.1500
iii. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1121425/pdf/878.pdf
National Effect | Agriculture | Economy
Thesis Relevance: explains why/how bioterrorism affects more than just the people directly involved
1. Agriculture (Daschle & Myers)
a. Agriculture and livestock are targets for bioterror attacks
i. This specific kind of bioterrorism is known as agroterrorism, and was deemed “more
likely than a nuclear attack” by the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation
and Terrorism and subsequently gave the United States a failing grade for bioterrorism
readiness. In response, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense recommended that
congress act quickly on increasing oversight on efforts to counter agroterrorism
b. Economic impact of agroterrorism (economic devastation)
i. Agriculture is a $1 trillion business in United States, employing nearly 10% of America’s
workers. $60 billion worth of American household income stems from jobs in animal
agriculture alone. Though direct exposure to biological pathogens or toxic chemicals
sparks rightful fear in the hearts of Americans, an agroterrorist attack has the potential to
cause even more widespread casualty, as two-thirds of animal pathogens can be
transmitted to humans, making an agroterrorism event a human one, too.
Preventative Measures | Trends | Predictability | Preparation
Thesis Relevance: provides understanding of the likelihood of an attack based on the past as well as an
understanding of the accessible preparation information and advice
1. Common threads
a. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/5/4/99-0406_article
b. https://www.omicsonline.org/current-trends-in-bioterrorism-and-biodefense-2157-2526.S3-
e002.pdf
2. Prevention
a. https://emergency.cdc.gov/bioterrorism/prep.asp
b. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221142/
Conclusion | Research | Awareness