Biological warfare and bioterrorism is an unpleasant fact of 21st century life. Highly infectious and profoundly virulent diseases may be caused in combat personnel or in civilian populations by the appropriate dissemination of viruses, bacteria, spores, fungi, or toxins. Dissemination may be airborne, waterborne, or by contamination of food or surfaces. Countermeasures may be directed toward d...

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the most potent of the known biological toxins, and consequently are listed as category A biowarfare agents. Currently, the only treatments against BoNTs include preventative antitoxins and long-term supportive care. Consequently, there is an urgent need for therapeutics to counter these enzymes--post exposure. In a previous study, we identified a number of sma...

There is almost no international scientific, expert, political or economical meeting in which new threats of world and national security are not discussed. For all that, the threat posed by terrorism is of special concern and receives special attention, particularly when we talk about terrorism with radiological, chemical and biological warfare agents and weapons. After 11 September 2001, when ...

M ore than 20 years ago, trichothecene mycotoxins made their controversial debut on the world stage. Alexander Haig, who was U.S. Secretary of State and visiting the western sector of then-divided Berlin, alleged in 1981 that trichothecenes had been used as biological warfare agents in Southeast Asia. He cited statements from villagers in the region, who claimed that they became ill after “yell...

Protecting civilian and military water supplies has received more attention since the United States began its war on terror in 2001. Both chlorine and bromine are used by branches of the U.S. military for disinfecting water supplies; however, limited data exists as to the effectiveness of these additives when used against viral biowarfare agents. The present study sought to evaluate the surviva...

The integrated US Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) has made great strides in strategic preparedness and response capabilities. There have been numerous advances in planning, biothreat countermeasure development, licensure, manufacturing, stockpiling and deployment. Increased biodefense surveillance capability has dramatically improved, while new tools and incr...

in the present work we studied the incidence of fetal deaths among conceptions whose fathers or both parents were survivors of chemical warfare attacks by iraq. we showed that there was significant correlation between frequency of fetal deaths among conceptions which eventuated after exposure of the parents to gas bombs compared to the frequency of fetal deaths among the control group. this wor...

The Bead ARray Counter (BARC) is a multi-analyte biosensor that uses DNA hybridization, magnetic microbeads, and giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensors to detect and identify biological warfare agents. The current prototype is a table-top instrument consisting of a microfabricated chip (solid substrate) with an array of GMR sensors, a chip carrier board with electronics for lock-in detection, a f...