Biological warfare. A historical perspective
G. W. Christopher, T. J. Cieslak, J. A. Pavlin and E. M. Eitzen Jr
Operational Medicine Division, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Md. 21702-5011, USA. georgevchristopher@detrick.army.mil
The deliberate use of microorganisms and toxins as weapons has been
attempted throughout history. Biological warfare has evolved from the crude
use of cadavers to contaminate water supplies to the development of
specialized munitions for battlefield and covert use. The modern
development of biological agents as weapons has paralleled advances in
basic and applied microbiology. These include the identification of
virulent pathogens suitable for aerosol delivery and industrial-scale
fermentation processes to produce large quantities of pathogens and toxins.
The history of biological warfare is difficult to assess because of a
number of confounding factors. These include difficulties in verification
of alleged or attempted biological attacks, the use of allegations of
biological attacks for propaganda purposes, the paucity of pertinent
microbiological or epidemiologic data, and the incidence of naturally
occurring endemic or epidemic diseases during hostilities. Biological
warfare has been renounced by 140 nations, primarily for strategic and
other pragmatic reasons. International diplomatic efforts, including the
1972 Biological Weapons Convention, have not been entirely effective in
preventing the enhancement and proliferation of offensive biological
warfare programs. The threats posed by biological weapons are likely to
continue into the future.
