DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS

File: 123096_sep96_decls1_0071.txt
Page: 0071
Total Pages: 109

Subject: DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS       

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box  ID: BX003203

Folder Title: DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS                                       

Document Number:          1

Folder Seq  #:         21












                                                         NA'i'O UNCLASSIFIEL)


                                                              CliA?TER 2


                                              CIIAKACTERISTICS OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS

                       INTRODUCTION

                       201.    Tti:retically a large number     oi Pathogenic micr3or3anisms and even an
                       increaser.; number ot toxins could be considered as suitable agents for
                       biological warfare. The eradication of a naturally-occurring disease such as
                       smallpox and the cessation of vaccination augments its suitability as a
                       biological agent. Rapid developments in the field of biotechnology which
                       provide a Way LO influence the genetic expression in a microorganism, have
                       increased the existing hazard.

                       202.    --..@raCLer%SLICS cn whicii tccnLl:.CaLon is based can now bf- altered, or
                       Organisms ".L eAlItUDb .ILi&enS Of a LitfLt!rctiL bpecies mignl WiEncraw
                       themselves trom detection Systems.       Introduction of new genetic material could
                       lead to cranges in Metabolism such     as production of toxins and antibiotic-
                       destroying enzymes.    'rhe selection  of biological agen   'ts is expected to be made
                       on the basis ot technical problems     encountered in the mass production and
                       storage of microorganisms or toxins as well as on biological criteria such as:
                       the still existing degree of immunity (as with sriallpox), incorporation of the
                       disease ir a military immunisation program, the availability and efficacy ot a
                       vaccine, ir.-.nimal infectious dose and incubation period.

                                                         INFECTIOUS AGENTS


ACTER!STICS

                       203.    Dissemination by aerosol Must be considered the Most likely means ot
                       delivery c,@ biological agents. Also the organisms would necessarily be
                       capable of maintaining viability and virulence for a period of time during
                       atrosolisa:ton and while suspended in aer@sol. Protection Of the
                       microorgai-.,.Sm during these phases can be achieved by microencapsulalion in a
                       Suitable compound. Such compounds are either provided in the growth medium or
                       in the suspending fluid.

                       204.    Microorganisms which are capable of producing respiratory infections
                       under normal or laboratory conditions, for example Q fever, psittacosis and
                       glanders, do have the required stability. Certain organisms, particularly the
                       arboviruses which do not gain entry via the respiratory tract in nature, are
                       capable of infecting humans when artifically disseminated in an aerosol, and
                       the disease thus produced will be more severe and have a different clinical
                       presentation. Under these circumstances immunisation may not offer sufficient
                       protection against a respiratory challenge.

                       INFECTIVITY

                       205.    Infectious agents intended for large scale coverage would possess a
                       high degree of infectivity, that is, the minimal infective dose would be
                       small, particularly for the respiratory route. Experiments on animals and

Document 109 f:/Week-36/BX003203/DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS/detection of medical defense against biological :1217960927452
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003203
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
Folder Seq # = 21
Subject = DETECTION OF MEDICAL DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL
Document Seq # = 1
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 17-DEC-1996