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March 2002
Volume 66 |
Number 3
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| The
History of Bioterrorism: An Overview |
Douglas R. Bacon, M.D., Secretary-Treasurer
Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology
In war, the objective is to render the opponent incapable of
offering resistance. Conventionally, this is done by killing as
many soldiers as possible by force of arms. Artillery, bullets,
bombs, hand grenades and landmines all do their bloody duty. However,
the theory that biological material can kill more effectively
and with less effort, cost and destruction than bullets makes
it an attractive alternative weapon. In practice, though, its
use has led to many deaths, not just of the opponent, but of friendly
forces as well.
Contamination
The history of biological weapons goes back to antiquity.
The nine plagues of Egypt may be the earliest form of using
nature to gain strategic goals. In Exodus, chapters seven
through 12 detail infestations of frogs, lice, flies, locusts
and natural disasters such as hail, darkness and a red tide
in the Nile. One plague in particular, the “ashes”
that caused boils, sounds suspiciously like the modern biological
weapon anthrax (Bacillus anthracis). The ultimate biological
weapon in the ancient struggle of the Israelites and Egyptians
killed the first-born of each house unless the blood of a
lamb was apparent over the door frame.1 |
Contamination of potable water, like the red tide of the Nile,
has been a major theme in the history of biological warfare. In
the 6th century B.C.E., the Assyrians poisoned wells of their
opponents using rye ergot. 2 During Greek and
Roman times, the first recorded use of biological weapons occurred.
Scythian archers infected their arrows by dipping them into decomposing
bodies or in blood contaminated with manure. 3
During the Carthaginian Wars, Romans often contaminated wells
and food sources with the bodies of dead animals, 4
a practice that was common even in the American Civil War. General
Joseph E. Johnson, marching with Confederate troops to reinforce
Vicksburg, drove farm animals into ponds and shot them. Pursuing
Union General William T. Sherman noted that the stinking carcasses
had to be removed from the water, but did not detail any effect
on his troops.3
Centuries before the Civil War, the development of the catapult
ushered in a new era in biologic warfare as plague-infected bodies
were hurled into besieged cities. A prime example of the practice
occurred at Kaffa (now Feodossia, Ukraine), where the Tartars
catapulted plague-infected cadavers of their army into the city.
The city was soon emptied, and the inhabitants sailed back to
Genoa, Venice and other ports on the Mediterranean, thus spreading
the plague to Europe. 5
Biological Agents as Weapons
Hannibal introduced biological projectiles when he fired earthen
vessels filled with venomous snakes into the flagship of King
Eumenes II of Pergamon. 3 A more calculated and
nasty step in the history of biological warfare is credited to
the British in North America. Noting the low resistance of the
native population to smallpox, Lord Jeffrey Amherst, commander
of British forces in North America, suggested that infected blankets
might be given to the Indians to “reduce” their numbers.
An outbreak of smallpox at Fort Pitt presented the opportunity.
Captain Simeon Ecuyer, one of Amherst’s subordinate officers,
gave blankets and handkerchiefs from the smallpox infirmary to
the natives. 6 Within a few months, smallpox
was raged among the native populations. 5
During World War I, the Germans planned to use anthrax against
the reindeer population of Norway, against Romanian sheep headed
for Russia and against Argentinean livestock purchased for use
by the British and Indian armies. Unsuccessful attempts were made
to contaminate cattle and horse fodder bound for England by the
German military attaché to the United States, Major Franz
von Papen. Perhaps more disturbing, the German consul in Zurich
was found, after the armistice, to be preparing vibrio cholera,
for dispersal in Italy.3
World War II could have been a biological warfare nightmare.
The Japanese began systematic research into biological weapons
in 1931. 7 Shiro Ishii, who became a lieutenant
general in the Imperial Japanese Army, directed the efforts. Prisoners,
including American prisoners of war, were used as human guinea
pigs in this often overlooked story of an extremely heinous war
crime. The Japanese used biological weapons against the Chinese,
including scattering plague-infested fleas over the towns of Chuhsien
and Ningpo. Ishii gave Nanking children chocolate candy laced
with anthrax in July of 1942. Fearing that the information learned
by the Japanese would fall into the hands of the Soviets after
the end of World War II, the Japanese generals responsible for
this murderous conduct were never brought to justice. 8
Britain and America developed centers for research into biological
weapons. No weapons were actually produced, aside from a stockpile
of anthrax-laden cattle feed that was never used. The British
did test anthrax bombs on Gruinard Island, a remote island off
the northwest coast of Scotland. Wishing to see the effect of
the bombs on sheep, the British got more than they bargained for,
and the island was uninhabitable for more than 45 years. A notable
biological weapon tested by the British was a botulin toxin-impregnated
grenade that was used in the assassination of the infamous Nazi,
Reinhard Heydrich. Although Heydrich’s wounds were comparatively
minor and certainly not life-threatening, he died unexpectedly
and in a manner consistent with botulism poisoning several days
after the attack.8
Post-World War II
Many allegations of biological warfare have surfaced from the
Korean War. It is difficult to tell what truly happened as both
China and Korea were in need of major public health initiatives,
and Koreans would often fertilize their crops with raw human waste.
On February 22, 1952, North Korea claimed the United States had
dropped cholera and plague-infested insects over their territory.
China made similar allegations, but nothing was ever proven.8,9
During the Vietnam conflict, the Vietcong used feces-impregnated
punji sticks to make their booby traps more lethal. 8
Allegations surrounding “yellow rain” in Vietnam and
during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan continue to surface.
Yellow rain, which is aerosolized trichothecene mycotoxin, causes
severe necrotic ulcers to develop in the nose, mouth, throat,
stomach, gastrointestinal tract and kidneys.2
During the Cold War, the United States Army wished to test the
vulnerability of the United States to a biological warfare attack.
In September 1950, Serratia marcescens and Bacillus globigii were
released from ships in the San Francisco Bay area. Although thought
to be harmless, an outbreak of infections with both agents soon
followed, including one death. In 1960, light bulbs filled with
Bacillus subtilis were dropped into ventilation shafts in the
New York subway system. Passengers brushed off the powder and
continued on unawares. The bacterium soon spread through the subway
system. 8
The former Soviet Union had, and may continue to have, a large
commitment to biological weapons development and deployment. Ken
Alibek, who ran the Soviet’s system in the late 1980s and
early 1990s, has detailed the ingenuity of Soviet scientists.
They developed a frightening array of biological weapons that
included an antibiotic-resistant anthrax, plague and tularemia
weapons and viral weapons using smallpox, Ebola and the Marburg
virus. The current whereabouts and careers of many of the scientists
from the Soviet program remain unknown, lending credence to the
possibility of their employment in Iraq, Iran or other known terrorist
states.10
Conclusion
The history of biological warfare is frightening and real. The
United States is in the midst of a crisis and remains vulnerable
to biological attack by a determined enemy. Caution must be taken
and the sensitive areas of our public health, utility and transportation
systems secured. In many ways, scientific discovery has outpaced
defensive capability. It is a 21st century reality with which
we all must live.
References:
1. Exodus 7-12. The Book. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc. 1979:66-73.
2. Etzel RA. Mycotoxins. JAMA. 2002; 287(4):425-427.
3. Robertson AG, Robertson LJ. From asps to allegations:
Biologic warfare in history. Mil Med. 1995; 160(8):369-373.
4. Lesho ME, Dorsey MD, Bunner D. Feces, dead
horses and fleas: Evolution of the hostile use of biologic agents.
West J Med. 1998; 168:512-516.
5. Christopher GW, Cieslak TJ. Biologic warfare:
A historical perspective. JAMA. 1997; 278:412-417.
6. The letters of Sir Jeffery Amherst were microfilmed
and preserved by the Library of Congress as part of a project
to preserve English documents at risk during World War II. The
story of Amherst and smallpox, along with links to the documents
may be found at <www.nativeweb.org/pages/lega/amherst/lord_jeff.html>.
Accessed on January 25, 2002.
7. Harris SH. Factories of Death: Japanese Biological
Warfare, 1932-45, and the American Cover-up. London: Routledge;
1994:3-164.
8. Mobley JA. Biological warfare in the twentieth
century: Lessons from the past, challenges for the future. Mil
Med. 1995; 160:547-553.
9. Rolicka M. New studies disputing allegations
of bacteriological warfare during the Korean War. Mil Med. 1995;
160:97-100.
10. Alibek K. Biohazard: The Chilling True Story
of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World,
Told From the Inside by the Man Who Ran It. New York, NY: Dell
Publishing; 1999:3-292.
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Douglas
R. Bacon, M.D., is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
and Chair, RMH South Division, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
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