Czech Republic steps up measures against bioterrorist threats
With the possible war against Iraq increasing security risks around the world, the Czech Interior Ministry has stepped up security measures as a precaution against terrorism, including bioterrorism. Tight security is in place at water resources and water plants and also food-processing plants. But what exactly is bioterrorism?
It is the use or threatened use of microorganisms or toxins in order to cause disease or death in humans, animals or plants. Aerosol delivery is the most likely means of spreading bio-agents, followed by contamination of water or food products. Unlike conventional weapons, bioweapons are a relatively inexpensive means of paralysing or killing humans. They are relatively easy to produce, they are quite stable, and very little quantities can affect large numbers of people.
Among the identified substances that can be used as biological weapons are for example natural toxins, such as the highly poisonous plant toxin ricin or botulinum toxin. Other potential bio-agents are the infamous anthrax, plague, viral hemorrhagic fevers, such Ebola or the Lassa or Marburg fevers and also smallpox or variola, which was eradicated in 1977, and all vaccination against it stopped after 1980. Virologist Dimitrij Slonim is one of the creators of the polio, rabies and smallpox vaccines in the former Czechoslovakia.
"The virus in the nature was fully eradicated all over the world. However, because of continuing scientific research and for some biological purpose, two strains of the virus have been and are still maintained in two places: Atlanta, Georgia, USA and the other place was Moscow."
However, it is believed that other countries might be in possession of the smallpox virus as well and that it could be available on the international black market of weapons of mass destruction. Bioterrorists could abuse the fact that younger generations have no immunity whatsoever against the variola virus.
"Practically all young people born after 1977 or 1980 are sensitive to variola infection, they are not immune at all. Other generations are not well immunised either, because, for example, in Europe variola was not a serious infection as it did not really exist there anymore before 1980. It means that some nations have the vaccination coverage on a very low degree and therefore in Europe the immunity level of the population is not high enough."
After it was declared that smallpox had been eliminated as a naturally occurring disease, many countries discharged their stockpiles of vaccines. Therefore the existing smallpox vaccine supply is limited, and in many cases only supportive care would be available to those infected. The Czech Republic, however, has a supply of several hundred thousand doses, which could be administered in the case of a smallpox alert.
