Howard County Home Health and Hospice



AGENCY NAME

Biological and Chemical Weapons

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|Biological Weapons |

|Also called “Germ Warfare” because germs or bacteria are main ingredients of many biological weapons. Biological weapons are living, disease causing microorganisms or their toxins. They cause some disease or |

|illness that kills those exposed to it or makes them ill for a period of time. Spread either by adding them to food, water or other products ingested by the intended victims or by aerosol spray. |

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|Biological Agents |Method of Transmission |Symptoms |Treatment |Comments |

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|Anthrax |Inhale or Ingest |Develop 1-6 days later |High doses of antibiotics. |Active in soil many years |

| | |Fever, weakness, fatigue, cough, mild chest pain then severe |Prophylactic - Vaccines usually only available to military| |

| | |respiratory distress then heart failure |personnel and researches. Must be taken in 3 doses at 2 | |

| | |Without treatment 20% die |week intervals. PPE that filters bacteria before breathed | |

| | | |in. | |

| | | | | |

|Botulism |Inhale or Ingest |Affects CNS, causing paralysis of heart and lungs. Fatigue, |Treat with Antitoxin for 3 of the 7 types of botulinum |Does not last long when exposed|

| | |weakness, dizziness, blurred or double vision, headache, |toxin. Treatment is supportive care. |to the elements. After 10 |

| | |nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Fatality rate is| |minutes, toxins react with |

| | |20-35%. | |other substances in the air and|

| | | | |become harmless to humans |

| | | | | |

|Cholera |Ingested contaminated food |1-5 days after exposure. Many infected people act as carriers |Rehydrating fluids, IV fluids and antibiotics. |People with cholera can lose as|

| |or water |and quickly spread the bacteria. Vomiting, abdominal pain, |Prophylaxis - Vaccine must be administered several weeks |much as 10 liters of water per |

| | |excessive diarrhea which causes severe fluid loss. Diarrhea |before exposure and booster is required every 6 months |day. Without treatment, die |

| | |leads to contaminated water supplies and improper sanitation |(only about 50% effective). |rapidly. |

| | |can affect food supplies. | | |

| | | | | |

|Plague - pneumonic |Spread by infected fleas |2-3 days after exposure. Affect the lungs. High fever, chills, |Most effective if started within 24 hours of initial |No vaccine available for |

| |which bite infected people |headache, blood poisoning, labored breathing and lack of |symptoms and must be for the duration of the symptoms and |pneumonic plague |

| |or rodents then transfer |oxygen. Death from respiratory failure and circulatory collapse|7 days afterwards. Prophylaxis - vaccine - several doses | |

| |the infection to others. | |every 6 months for 2 years. Booster shots required yearly.| |

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|Plague - bubonic |Spread by infected fleas, |2-10 days after exposure. Fever, weakness and highly swollen, |Most effective if started within 24 hours of initial | |

| |which bite infected people |very painful lymph nodes (called buboes). Then moves to central|symptoms. Prophylaxis - vaccine - several doses every 6 | |

| |or rodents then transfer |nervous system or the respiratory system. |months for 2 years. Booster shots required yearly. | |

| |the infection to others. | | | |

| | | | | |

|Ricin |Ingested or Aerosol form - |8 hours. Fever, cough, nausea, tightness in chest, profuse |No treatment or antidote; PPE masks may prevent exposure. |Amt of time between inhalation |

| |acts as cellular toxin - |sweating, fluid in lungs, reduced BP. Rapidly progresses to | |and death depends on dose |

| |destroys tissues and |respiratory failure and circulatory collapse. | |inhaled. Death usually within |

| |delicate blood vessels in | | |36-72 hours after exposure. |

| |lungs | | | |

| | | | | |

|Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B |Ingested or Inhaled |3-12 hours. Fever, chills, headache, cough and chest pain. |None |Seldom fatal |

|(SEB) | |Fever may last 2-5 days, cough may persist up to 4 weeks | | |

| | | | | |

|Tularemia |Inhaled |3-5 days after exposure. Fever, headache, chills, chest pain. |Antibiotics. Vaccine will prevent infection but only used |Fatality rate much higher than |

| | | |on researchers who face high risk of exposure. |others. |

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|Chemical Weapons |

|Any substance, whether man-made or naturally occurring, that is used by the military to injure or kill humans. Chemical warfare agents enter the body through inhalation, absorption through the skin or ingestion. |

|Three categories: Harassing agents - like tear gas, are usually not lethal. Lethal agents are usually lethal to their victims. Nerve agents are usually lethal in very small doses. |

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|Chemical Agents |Method of Transmission |Symptoms |Treatment |Comments |

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|Phosgene (lethal agent) |aerosol |2 hours after exposure. Extreme coughing, frothing at the|Supportive. |During WWI, was responsible for 80% of all deaths |

| | |mouth and choking. | |from lethal gases. |

| | | | | |

|Hydrogen Cyanide (lethal |Aerosol or absorbed through |restlessness and rapid breathing, giddiness, headache, |Low dose exposure - is possible to clean |Used in gas chambers in WWII. It has limited use |

|agent) |the skin |rapid irregular heart beat and difficulty breathing. |hydrogen cyanide out of the blood using |because achieving a toxic level of cyanide gas is |

| | |Followed by vomiting, convulsions, unconsciousness and |chemicals. Higher level exposure - no |difficult to maintain. |

| | |respiratory failure. |treatment | |

| | | | | |

|Tabun (nerve agent) |absorbed through skin or |10 minutes after exposure. Low dose - constricted pupils,|None | |

| |aerosol - colorless liquid |blurred and dimmed vision, chest tightness, difficulty | | |

| |with fruity smell |breathing. High dose - drooling, sweating, nausea, | | |

| | |vomiting, cramps, twitching, jerking, headache, | | |

| | |confusion, drowsiness, convulsions, coma and | | |

| | |asphyxiation. | | |

| | | | | |

|Sarin (nerve agent) |absorbed through skin or |10 minutes after exposure. Low dose - constricted pupils,|None |More deadly than Tabun because much less is needed|

| |aerosol |blurred and dimmed vision, chest tightness, difficulty | |to be lethal. |

| | |breathing. High dose - drooling, sweating, nausea, | |Tends to drift above ground for weeks or even |

| | |vomiting, cramps, twitching, jerking, headache, | |months and can affect people for long periods of |

| | |confusion, drowsiness, convulsions, coma and | |time. |

| | |asphyxiation. | | |

| | | | | |

|VX (nerve agent) |aerosol |none listed |None listed |tasteless, odorless liquid. Lethal in very low |

| | | | |concentrations. Remains active as a gas for 3-4 |

| | | | |weeks after release |

*Resource - Biological and Chemical Weapons: The Debate over Modern Warfare@ by Allan Cobb. Pages - 60. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., New York.

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