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Bacteria and Rickettsia |
Disease name | Fungi |
Plant Pathogens |
Livestock Agents| Toxins |
Viruses | Secondary
agents | Biological Agent Code
Names
| Disease Name | Abrin |
|---|---|
| Synonyms |
|
| Agent Type | Toxin |
| Target | Humans |
| Related Agents | |
| Listed by the Australia Group |
Yes |
| Comments | Abrin is a lectin from Abrus precatorius (the Jequirity bean or crabs eye) that is significantly more toxic to mice (approx. 50-fold) than is the closely related ricin. Like ricin, abrin is a ribosome inactivating protein. The Jequirity bean is used as a herbal medicine (an abortifacient) in Asia and is available in quantity in some countries, but not in the quantities that castor bean that is the source of ricin is available in. |
| Disease Name | African swine fever |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | AFSV |
| Agent Type | Virus |
| Target | Livestock (swine) |
| Related Agents | No closely related agents |
| Listed by the Australia Group |
Yes |
| Comments | The disease is highly contagious in domestic pigs and can be acute, which is rapidly fatal, or chronic, which is highly disabling. Symptoms can be vague with spontaneous abortion often being the first indicator. High fever, reddening of the skin, bloody diarrhea and vomiting are also seen. The virus is robust and stable under harsh conditions and is transmitted by ticks. |
| Disease Name | Avian influenza |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | Fowl plague |
| Agent Type | Virus |
| Target | Birds, especially poultry and waterfowl |
| Related Agents | none |
| Listed by the Australia Group |
Yes |
| Comments | The virus is highly contagious and can affect the digestive tract, the respiratory tract or nervous system of fowl giving rise a wide variety of symptoms from coughing and rales to diarrhea and infertility. It is widespread using waterfowl as its natural reservoir and it is spread by ingestion or inhalation. |
| Disease Name | None (simulant) |
|---|---|
| Synonyms |
|
| Agent Type | Bacterium |
| Target | None |
| Related Agents | Anthrax |
| Listed by the Australia Group |
No |
| Comments | These are simulants, harmless soil bacteria with properties similar to those of Bacillus anthracis that can be used to study the behavior of B. anthracis, e.g. in aerosols. Their only drawback is that some cultures smell very strongly of unwashed feet. Only one other member of the genus (B. cereus) is associated with disease, an unpleasant form of gastroenteritis. Reports of diseases from other members of the genus, including the popular research microorganism B. subtilis are also known. |
| Disease Name | Banana bunchy top |
|---|---|
| Synonyms |
|
| Agent Type | Virus |
| Target | Banana |
| Related Agents | None |
| Listed by the Australia Group |
Yes |
| Comments | The disease is widespread throughout banana-growing regions. The symptoms are chlorosis (a loss of green coloration of the leaves), stunted growth and eventual death of the plant. The virus is spread by the aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa and it can persist when established. |
| Disease Name | Bluetongue |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | None |
| Agent Type | Virus |
| Target | Livestock (sheep) and deer, cattle are affected, but not as severely as sheep. |
| Related Agents | None |
| Listed by the Australia Group |
Yes |
| Comments | The disease derives its name from the blue discoloration of the tongue as tissues become deprived of oxygen as the disease closes off blood vessels. The animals have sore muzzles, fever and produce a lot of catarrh. The lack of oxygen leads to a weakening of the muscles and the animal can become emaciated but may recover. The virus can cross the placenta and infect fetuses. The disease spreads rapidly in flocks as it is transmitted by bites of insects of the genus Cullicoides and control of insects and good animal husbandry are the primary defenses. |
| Disease Name | Camelpox |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | None |
| Agent Type | Virus |
| Target | Camels and their relatives (Camelidae) |
| Related Agents | |
| Listed by the Australia Group |
Yes |
| Comments | Camelpox virus was studied by the Iraqi biological weapons program. Although it could be used as an economic weapon in the Middle East, it is believed that they may have been using it as a model for the later development of a smallpox weapon. |
| Disease Name | Cholera |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | None |
| Agent Type | Toxin |
| Target | Humans |
| Related Agents | Vibrio cholerae |
| Listed by the Australia Group |
Yes |
| Comments | The toxin is one of two enzymes that make V.
cholerae a pathogen. It stimulates the intestine to start secreting
water and salts rather than absorbing them. On its own, it is not necessarily
too effective as it needs a second protein, an invasin, that attacks a
molecule on the surface of the intestine to generate binding sites for
the toxin. High levels of the toxin, e.g. in aerosol attack may still
be disabling and avoids the problems of using the bacterium, which can
be easily controlled by normal water purification processes.
The toxin is an enzyme, an ADP ribosyl transferase that permanently activates an enzymes that is an important control enzyme (an adenyl cyclase) and that is itself tightly regulated. The disruption of this control cycle leads to the massive diarrhea. |
| Disease Name | Gas gangrene |
|---|---|
| Synonyms |
|
| Agent Type | Bacterium |
| Target | Humans |
| Related Agents |
|
| Listed by the Australia Group |
Yes |
| Comments | C. perfringens is an anaerobic bacterium that survives in the soil as a spore and when soil is introduced into a wound, the bacterium germinates (healing wounds are metabolically very active and often functionally anaerobic) and begins to destroy surrounding tissue generating gases that compress tissue and cut off the blood supply. Once the disease is established, amputation remains the only treatment option. However, there are no general agreements on such things as how far from the diseased tissue the amputation should take place. Gas gangrene has been a problem on the battlefield since soil first entered a wound. |
| Disease Name | Tetanus |
|---|---|
| Synonyms |
|
| Agent Type | Bacterium |
| Target | Humans |
| Related Agents |
|
| Listed by the Australia Group |
Yes |
| Comments | C. tetani, is a normal component of the digestive tracts of cattle
and horses. Like C. perfringens, it is an anaerobic bacterium that
survives in the soil as a spore and germinates when soil is introduced
into a wound. The toxin secreted by growing organisms begins to paralyze
surrounding tissues with spasms often the first sign of the disease. As
the toxin spreads throughout the body, muscles contract uncontrollably,
sometimes fiercely enough to break bones. If the victim dies they are
bent over backwards with fists and jaws clenched (hence the name "lockjaw")
with the diaphragm also paralyzed. The disease was a common consequence
of battle in the days of horse cavalry as wounds became infected as horse
manure was sprayed around as a consequence of battle.
An effective vaccine and an antitoxin are available and many physicians routinely vaccinate patients every seven years. The disease is still a hazard for livestock farmers and those involved in sports and open field games. |
| Disease Name | Cryptosporidiosis |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | None |
| Agent Type | Parasite |
| Target | Humans |
| Related Agents | None |
| Listed by the Australia Group |
No |
| Comments | Cryptosporidiosis first came to public attention when there were outbreaks of the disease in Milwaukee and the Washington DC areas in the early 1990's. The organism was first recognized as a possible public health problem in 1976. It is contracted from water contaminated with feces of infected animals or humans and spores and the organism itself are robust enough to withstand normal water processing by chlorination but is killed by pasteurization and by boiling. Careful hand washing and personal hygiene are essential in the event of an outbreak. The parasite causes diarrhea and stomach cramps in most people. There is no treatment for it and healthy people eventually flush it out of their digestive tracts. People with weakened immune systems (cancer or transplant patients and those with AIDS) are less able to defend themselves against it. Cryptosporidiosis is one of those diseases that is seen as a possible biological weapon because of its novelty and robustness. |
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