General characteristics of biological weapons. The main types of causative agents of infectious diseases and the features of their affecting action. Methods and means of using biological weapons
General characteristics of biological weapons
Biological weapons are special ammunition and combat equipment with the means of their delivery to the goal, equipped with biological means; It is intended for mass destruction of people, farm animals and crops of crops.
The basis of the affecting actions of biological weapons is biological means (BS) - specially selected biological agents capable of penetrating people (animals, plants) to cause severe diseases (lesions) specially selected for combat use.
Features of the striking action bo
1. Bo selectively amazes, mainly living matter, leaving intact material values, which can then be used by the attacker side. In addition, some biological means are able to affect only people, other agricultural animals, third - plants. Only individual agents are dangerous for both people and animals.
2. Bo has high combat efficiency, since causing a dose of biological agents is negligible, significantly surpassing the most toxic poisoning substances.
3. Boy can affect live strength on the squares in tens of thousands and more square kilometers, which allows it to be used to defeat a strongly dispersed living force and in the absence of data on its accurate deployment.
4. The affecting effect Bo manifests itself through a certain, so-called incubation (hidden) period, which continues from several hours to several days and even weeks. The incubation period can be reduced or lengthened depending on various factors. These include the value of the dose of biological agents that penetrate the body, the presence in the body of specific immunity, the timeliness of the use of medical protection products, physical condition and the prior irradiation of the body by ionizing flows. In the incubation period, the personnel fully maintains combat capability.
5. Bo is characterized by the duration of the action due to the property of certain biological means to cause diseases capable of epidemic distribution. On the other hand, some biological means are preserved in an external environment in a viable state (months and years). The increase in the duration of the action of Bo is also associated with the possibility of propagation of certain biological agents with artificially infected with bloodsowing carriers. In this case, the risk of formation of a persistent natural focus of infection occurs, finding in which will be dangerous for personnel.
6. The possibility of securing boobs and difficulties in timely indication and identification of biological agents.
7. Bo has a strong psychological impact. The threat of applying the enemy Bo or the sudden appearance of dangerous diseases (plague, smallpox, yellow fever) can cause panic, depressed, thereby reduce the combat capability of troops and disorganize the work of the rear.
8. Large volume and complexity of work on the elimination of the effects of boosters, it is possible that serious environmental consequences are possible. Biological means are striking people, animal and vegetable world, microorganisms. This can lead to their mass death, reduce the number to such a level, in which they will not be able to continue their further existence as species. The disappearance in the ecological community of one or group of biological species seriously violates environmental equilibrium. The created vacuum can be filled with a biological species - carrier of a hazardous infection acquired in natural conditions or as a result of the use of Bo. In turn, this will lead to the formation of extensive areas with a resistant natural foci, habitats in which for a person is dangerous.
Biological means are able to cause diseases, hitting the body through the organism through the respiratory organs along with air, through the gastrointestinal tract with food and water, through skin cover (through abrasions and wounds and in the bite of infected insects).
The main types of causative agents of infectious diseases and the features of their affecting
As biological agents, the enemy can use:
For the defeat of people - botulinum toxin, staphylococcal enterotoxin, plague pathogens, Tularemia, Siberian ulcers, yellow fever, ku-fever, brucellosis, Venezuelan encephalomyelitis of horses and other diseases;
For the damage to agricultural animals - the pathogens of the Siberian ulcers, the Sap, Famingury, the plague of cattle, etc.;
For the damage to agricultural crops - the pathogens of rust of bread cereals, phytoofluorosis of potatoes and other diseases.
To destroy crops of grain and industrial crops, one can expect deliberate use of insects by an opponent - the most dangerous pests of crops, such as locusts, the Colorado Fur Zhka, etc.
Microorganisms, including causative agents of infectious diseases, depending on the size, structure and biological properties are divided into the following classes: bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, fungi.
Bacteria are single-cell microorganisms visible only under the microscope; We multiply by simply division. They quickly die from exposure to direct sunlight, disinfectants and high temperatures. At low temperatures, bacteria are small and even freezing. Some types of bacteria for survival in adverse conditions are able to be covered with a protective capsule or turn into a disruption with a large stability to the specified factors. Bacteria cause severe diseases such as plague, tularemia, Siberian ulcers, sap, etc.
Fungi - microorganisms, differing from bacteria with a more complex structure and breeding methods. Disputes of fungi highly resistant to drying, exposure to sunlight and disinfectants. Diseases caused by pathogenic fungi are characterized by damage in the internal organs with severe and long flow.
Features of the affecting actions of toxins
Microbial toxins - Products of vital activity of certain types of bacteria with high toxicity. When feeding with food, water into the human body, these products cause severe, often with fatal poisoning.
The most dangerous of known bacterial toxins is a botulinical toxin, which leads in the absence of timely treatment for fatal outcomes in 60-70% of cases. Toxins, especially during dried form, is quite resistant to freezing, oscillations of relative humidity and do not lose their affect properties in the air to 12 hours. Toxins are destroyed with long-term boiling and exposure to disinfectants.
When inserting a certain amount of toxin in the body, it causes the form of a disease, called poisoning or intoxication.
The penetration of toxins into the body takes place mostly three ways: through the gastrointestinal tract, the wound surface and the lungs. From the site of primary penetration, they are dealt with blood for all organs and tissues. The toxin in the blood is partially exposed to neutralizing with special cells of the immune system or specific antibodies, which are produced by the body in response to the introduction of toxin. In addition, the detoxification process goes to the liver where toxin falls with blood flow. The elimination of neutralized toxin from the body in most cases is carried out by the kidneys.
The manifestations of the toxic effect of microbial toxins are different and are associated with the prevailing defeat of them or other organs and those changes in the body that arise due to violations. functions of these organs.
Separate toxins are affected by the nervous tissue, block the conducting pulses by nerve fibers, disturbing the regulating effect of the nervous system on the muscles, resulting in paralysis.
Other toxins that act mainly in the intestines are disturbed in it the process of suction of the fluid, which, on the contrary, it comes into the intestinal lumen, as a result of which the diagrams and dehydration of the body are developing.
In addition, toxins act on various internal organs, which penetrate the blood, breaking heart activities, liver, kidney functions. A number of toxins, while in the blood, is able to provide a direct damaging effect on blood cells and blood vessels, violate blood clotting processes.
Methods and means of using biological weapons
The effectiveness of Bo action depends not only on the affecting abilities of causative agents of diseases, but also largely on the right choice of methods and means of their application. The following methods of application Bo were possible:
Pollution of the surface layer of air by spraying biological recipes (disease pathogens);
Aerosol method;
Dispersion in the area of \u200b\u200bthe object of artificially infected blood-sucking carriers of diseases - transmissible method;
Direct contamination by biological means of weapons and military equipment, water supply systems (water-sources), food products, foodstuffs, as well as indoor air and facilities that are important with sabotage equipment - a sabotage method.
The most efficient and probable method of using biological means is the creation of a biological aerosol with small bombs, equipped in one-time bombing cassettes, containers, combat parts of controlled and winged missiles, as well as by various spraying devices (tight and spray aircraft devices, mechanical aerosol generators), installed on airplanes, helicopters, winged rockets, aerostats, ships, submarines, on ground vehicles.
Pulse and spraying aircraft Allowed to achieve infection with surface air aerosol on large areas.
One-time bombing cassettes and containers may contain several dozen and even hundreds of small biological bombs. The scattering of small bombs allows you to simultaneously and evenly cover the aerosol large-sized objects. The translation of the biological formulation in a combat condition is carried out by an explosive charge explosion.
Transmissive way lies in deliberate dispersion in a given area of \u200b\u200bartificially infected carriers. The method is based on the ability of bloodsowing carriers to be easily perceived, continue to maintain, and through bittenness and selection to transmit pathogens of a number of dangerous people and animal diseases. Thus, individual species of mosquito transmit yellow fever, fleas - plague, lush - a rapid tit, ticks - ku-fever, encephalitis, tularevia, etc. The influence of meteorological conditions is determined only by the impact of them on the vital activity of carriers. It is believed that the use of infected carriers is most likely at temperatures from 15 ° C and higher and relative humidity of at least 60%. This method is considered as auxiliary.
For delivery and dispersion in the area of \u200b\u200bdiseases of diseases, as well as insects - pests of crops can be used entomological ammunition - aviation bombs and containers providing protection against adverse factors during the flight and landing period (heating and a soft landing on Earth).
It is not excluded to use as a means of delivering radio and tele-controlled balloons and balloons. Draifuya together with the dominant air currents, they are capable of landing or reset biological ammunition.
Sabotage method It is very affordable and effective, does not require special preparation. With the help of small-sized instruments (portable aerosol generators, spraying penalties), you can infect air in places of mass accumulation of people, in the premises and halls of train stations, airports, metro, socio-cultural and sports centers, as well as at facilities with important defense and state importance. It is possible to infect water in urban water supply systems using causative agents cholera, typhoid typhoids, plague.
Biological means can be applied by tactical, transport and strategic aviation aircraft.
According to the views of foreign military specialists, the use of biological weapons is possible both on the eve of and during hostilities in order to apply mass losses to personnel, difficulty of conducting active hostilities, disorganizing the work of objects and the economy of the rear in general. At the same time, it is planned to use biological ammunition both independently and in combination with nuclear, chemical and ordinary weapons in order to significantly increase common losses. For example, preceding the irradiation of the body with ionizing radiation of the nuclear explosion sharply reduces its protective ability against the action of the BS and reduces the incubation period.
Principles of Biological Weapons (suddenness, massing, careful taking into account the conditions of application, combat properties and features of the affecting effect of causative agents of diseases) are generally the same as for the other types of OMP, in particular, chemical weapons.
In the offensive, biological weapons are intended to be used to defeat the personal composition of reserves and second echelons located in areas of concentration or making march, as well as rear parts. In defense, the use of biological weapons is recommended for the defeat of the personnel, both the first and second echelons, major points of management and rear objects. To solve operational-tactical problems, the enemy can apply BS with a short incubation period and low contagiousness.
Under action on strategic objects, the BS with a long hidden period and high contagiousness is more likely.
Biological weapons are weapons of mass lesion, its affecting effect is based on the use of a variety of pathogenic microorganisms, which are able to cause massive diseases and lead to the death of people, plants and animals. Some classifications refer to biological weapons and pest insects, which can cause serious harm to agricultural cultures of the enemy state (locust, Colorado Code, etc.).
Previously, it was very often possible to meet the term "bacteriological weapons", but it did not fully reflect the entire essence of this type of weapons, since the bacteria themselves were only one of the groups of living beings that could be used to maintain biological war.
Ban
Biological weapons were prohibited on the basis of a document that entered into legal force on March 26, 1975. By January 2012, 165 states are participants in the Convention on the Biological Weapon.
The main prohibiting document: "Convention on the prohibition of the development, production and accumulation of bacteriological (biological) weapons, as well as toxins and its destruction (Geneva, 1972). The first attempt was made back in 1925, we are talking about the Geneva Protocol, which entered into force on February 8, 1928.
The subject of the ban: Microbes and other biological agents, as well as toxins, regardless of their origin or methods of production, types and in quantities that are not intended for prevention, protection and other peaceful purposes, as well as ammunition that are intended to deliver these agents or toxins to The enemy during armed conflicts.
Biological weapons
Biological weapons are a danger to people, animals and plants. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, rickettsia, bacterial toxins can be used as pathogenic microorganisms or toxins. There is the possibility of using prions (as a genetic weapon). At the same time, if we consider the war as a set of actions aimed at suppressing the enemy's economy, then insects can be attributed to the types of biological weapons, which are able to effectively and quickly destroy agricultural crops.
Biological weapons are inextricably linked with technical use and delivery means. The technical means of use include such funds that allow secure transportation, storage and translation into combat condition of biological agents (destroyable containers, capsules, cassettes, airbabers, sprayers and tight aviation devices).
The means of delivery of biological weapons include combat devices that provide the delivery of technical means to the objects of the enemy lesion (ballistic and winged rockets, aviation, shells). This also includes groups of saboteurs that can deliver containers with biological weapons to the area of \u200b\u200buse.
The biological weapons possesses the following features of affecting:
High efficiency of the use of biological agents;
- the difficulty of timely detection of biological infection;
- the presence of a hidden (incubation) period of action, which leads to an increase in the installation of biological weapons, but at the same time reduces its tactical efficacy, since it does not allow to ensure immediate conclusion;
- a wide variety of biological agents (BS);
- the duration of affecting actions, which is due to the stability of certain types of BS to the external environment;
- flexibility of affecting actions (the presence of pathogens of temporarily disabling and mortal);
- the ability of some types of BS to epidemic distribution, which appears as a result of the use of pathogens, which are able to transmit from a patient to a healthy person;
- selectivity of action, which manifests itself in the fact that some types of BS affect exclusively people, other animals, and third - and people, and animals (SAP, Siberian ulcer, brucellosis);
- The ability of biological weapons in the form of aerosols to penetrate the lesions, engineering structures and combat technology facilities.
The advantages of biological weapons, specialists usually include the availability and low cost of production, as well as the possibility of emergence in the army of the enemy and among its civilian population of large-scale epidemics of dangerous infectious diseases, which can sow panic everywhere, fear, and reduce the combat capability of the army parts and disorganize the work of the rear.
The beginning of the use of biological weapons is customary to belong to the ancient world. So, in 1500 BC e. Hetta in Malaya Asia rated the power of infectious disease and began to send a plague on enemy lands. In those years, the scheme of infection was very simple: they took the sick people and littered them into the mill of the enemy. Hitty for these purposes used people who were sick Tularemia.
In the Middle Ages, the technology received some improvement: the corpses of the dead people or animals from any terrible disease (usually from the plague) with the help of a variety of varietary guns threw through the walls in a deposited city. An epidemic could be blocked inside the city, in which the defenders died with packs, and the survivors covered the real panic.
The controversial remains one fairly famous case that occurred in 1763. According to one of the versions, the British transferred the tribe of American soil and blankets, which previously used patients with genuine smallpasses. It is not known, this attack was planned in advance (then this is the most real case of using Bo), or this happened by chance. In any case, according to one of the versions, among the Indians there was a real epidemic that took hundreds of lives and almost completely undermined the combat capability of the tribe.
Some historians even believe that the famous 10 biblical ulcers that Moses "convened" against Egyptians could be campaigns of a certain biological war, and not at all divine attacks. Since then, many years have passed, and the achievements of people in the field of medicine have led to a significant improvement in the understanding of the actions of harmful pathogens and how the human immune system is able to fight them. However, it was a stick about two ends. Science gave us modern methods of treatment and vaccination, but also led to the further militarization of a number of the most destructive biological "agents" on Earth.
The first half of the 20th century was marked by the use of both Germans and the Japanese of biological weapons, both countries used a Siberian ulcer. Subsequently, it began to be used in the USA, Russia and the UK. The Germans still during the First World War tried to provoke epizootia of the Siberian ulcers among the horses of the countries of their opponents, but they could not do it. After signing in 1925, the so-called Geneva Protocol to develop biological weapons was more difficult.
However, the protocol stopped far from all. Thus, in Japan with biological weapons during the Second World War, a whole special part was experimed - the secret detachment of 731. It is reliably known that during the war, the specialists of this part were purposefully and quite successfully infected the population of China with a bubonic plane, which died in a total of about 400 thousand human. And Nazi Germany was engaged in the mass spread of malaria carriers in the Pontic swamps in Italy, the losses of allies from malaria reached about 100 thousand people.
From all this it follows that biological weapons are a simple, effective and ancient way to destroy the wide masses of people. However, such weapons have very serious disadvantages that significantly limit the possibilities of combat use. A very big minus of such a weapon is that the pathogens of hazardous diseases are not amenable to any "training".
Bacteria and viruses can not be made to distinguish their own from others. Blowing out to freedom, they are harmful to everything alive on their way without a special parsing. Moreover, they can run the process of mutation, and these changes are very difficult to predict, and sometimes it is simply impossible. Therefore, even the antidote prepared in advance can become ineffective against mutating samples. The viruses are most susceptible to mutations, it is enough to recall that there are still no vaccines from HIV infection, not to mention that periodically humanity is experiencing problems with the treatment of ordinary flu.
Currently, protection against biological weapons is reduced to two large groups of special events. The first of them are preventive. Preventive actions include vaccinations to military personnel, population and agricultural animals, the development of early detection of Bo and SanEpidadzor. The second events are therapeutic. These include emergency prevention after the detection of the fact of use of biological weapons, specialized assistance to the sick and their isolation.
Simulation of situations and teachings have repeatedly proved the fact that states with more or less developed medicine can cope with the consequences of the current species of Bo. But the story with the same flu every year proves to us the opposite. In the event that someone succeeds in creating a weapon based on this very common virus, the end of the world can become much more real than it seems to many.
To date, as biological weapons can be used:
- bacteria - pathogens of Siberian ulcers, plague, cholera, brucellosis, tularemia, etc.;
- Viruses - causative agents of tick-borne encephalites, natural smallpox, ebola fever and Marburg et al.;
- Ricketsia - pathogens of fragile rocky mountains, rapid typhoid, ku-fever, etc.;
- fungi - pathogens of histoplasmosis and nocardiosis;
- botulinum or other bacterial toxins.
For the successful spread of biological weapons can be used:
Artillery shells and mines, aviation bombs and aerosol generators, distant and near radius rockets, as well as any unmanned means of attacks carrying biological weapons;
- Aviation bombs or special containers styled by infected arthropods;
- a variety of ground cars and air infection equipment;
- Special equipment and various devices for sabotage contamination of air, water indoor, food, as well as for the spread of infected rodents and arthropods.
It is the use of artificially infected with bacteria and viruses of mosquitoes, flies, fleas, ticks, lice seems to be almost a win-win option. At the same time, these carriers can maintain the ability to transfer the pathogen to people actually throughout their life. And the duration of their lives can be from several days or weeks (flies, mosquitoes, lice) up to several years (ticks, fleas).
Biological terrorism
In the post-war, biological weapons were not used during large-scale conflicts. But at the same time they began to be interested in terrorist organizations very actively. Thus, since 1916, a minimum of 11 cases of planning or committing terrorist attacks using biological weapons were documented. The most famous example is the story of sending letters with Siberian spores in the United States in 2001, when 5 people died from letters.
Today, biological weapons most reminiscent of Ginna from a fairy tale, which was locked in a bottle. However, sooner or later, the simplification of the technologies for the production of biological weapons can lead to the loss of control on them and put humanity before another threat to its safety.
The development of chemical, and later and nuclear weapons led to the fact that almost all countries of the world abandoned the further financing of work on the creation of new samples of biological weapons that continued for decades. Thus, technological developments and scientific data that were accumulated during this time turned out to be "suspended in the air."
On the other hand, work that is aimed at creating means of protection against dangerous infections have never stopped. They are conducted at the global level, while research centers receive decent financing volumes for these purposes. The epidemiological threat is preserved today around the world, which means that even in undeveloped and poor countries, sanitary and epidemiological laboratories are necessarily present, which are equipped with all necessary for work related to microbiology.
Today, even ordinary brewing plants can be quite easy to refill for the release of any biological recipes. Such objects along with laboratories may be of interest to biological terrorists.
At the same time, the natural smallpox virus is called the most likely candidate for use in sabotage-terrorist purposes. Currently, the collection of natural smallpox virus on the recommendation of the World Health Organization is reliably stored in Russia and in the United States. It has information that this virus can be uncontrolled in a number of states and may be spontaneously (a, perhaps, and deliberately) leave the limits of storage sites.
It is necessary to understand that the terrorists do not pay any attention to the international conventions, they are also not disturbed by the indiscrimination of pathogens microorganisms. The main task of terrorists is to sow fear and seek this way of desired goals. For these purposes, biological weapons seems to be almost the perfect option. Little can compare with that panic that the use of biological weapons can cause. Of course, it was not without the influence of movies, literature and media that surrounded such an opportunity for a halo of some inevitability.
However, without mass media, there are prerequisites for the possible use of such weapons in terrorist purposes. For example, accounting for potential bioterrorists of errors made by their predecessors. Attempts to create portable nuclear charges and a chemical attack, which was carried out in the Tokyo metro due to the lack of high technologies and the competent approach, terrorists were dips. At the same time, the biological weapon with the right attack will continue to continue its effect without the participation of performers, reproducing itself.
Due to this, on the set of parameters, it is confident to say that it is the biological weapon that can be selected by terrorists in the future as the most suitable to achieve the targets facing them.
Biological weapons have many drawbacks: its action is difficult to predict and control. There is also no guarantee that it is the enemy army that will incur more losses. Therefore, biological weapons are most often used in history in a state of hopelessness and despair.
Plague, Kaffa fortress, 14th century
The first use of bacteriological weapons occurred in 1346, during the siege of the Crimean city of Kuffa (the current Feodosia). Then the fortress was the largest trading point of the Genoese Republic. Khan Golden Horde Janibek entered the open war with the Genoese, because of the frequent complaints about the fact that the colony traders are unprincipled by the slavery of the children of Tatar nomads who endure hunger due to natural disasters.From the busy center of the slave trade, Cuffi city, the plague quickly spread over Europe, Asia and Africa.
The lack of fleet did not stop the Golden Core Khan in the desire to shift the greed of the Genoesers. But anger alone was not enough, the walls of the fortress were almost invulnerable to the Tatar attack. In addition, in the ranks of the warriors, the Horde began to spread the plague, even more relaxed the position of the attackers.
Then Janibek ordered to cut the body of a warrior who deceased from infection, and throw a catapult into the city. The turning point in the confrontation did not happen - the horde was forced to retreat soon due to the final loss of combat capability. But for Cuff, this event did not pass without a trace. The epidemic that spread among the inhabitants of the Genoese colony rapidly hit all the new major cities of Europe, Asia, North Africa. So the Pandemic of Plague or Black Mor began, during which more than half of the population died.
Spa against Indians, 18th Century
In 1763, British troops were in a difficult situation. Having lost a significant number of soldiers and forts in battles with the Indians, the colonists also encountered an empty epidemic. The disease raged in Fort Pitt, even more relaxing the position of the British.The activist and entrepreneur William Trent, the former captain during the siege, was the first to invite the infect of Indians.
The indigenous population of America did not have immunity to diseases brought from Europe, such as OPA, TIF, Cor.
The tool for the implementation of the plan was blankets and clothes from the hospital, where sick of the British. This tactic was agreed in writing between General D. Amherst and Colonel G. Buke. Infected things were handed over to two negotiators of the Derovar tribe, who had a visit to Fort in June 1763. After this event, there were outbreaks of smallpox among the Indian population.
To this infection, indigenous Americans were more vulnerable than colonists. Therefore, so insignificant contact was enough to spread the aggressive virus. There are also evidence that in the subsequent missing blankets continued to give "as a sign of respect" or sell Indians, which provoked the spread of the disease and a rapid decrease in their number.
Tiff, plague and cholera - combat bacteria from the Japanese laboratory
The Japanese to the creation of bacteriological weapons approached consistently. A secret scientific center was organized under the control of the microbiologist Siro Issi, where the strains of pathogenic microorganisms were developed. The pathogens of typhoids, plague, cholera, which cultivated in the laboratory, were modified in such a way as to apply maximum damage and quickly lead to death. 
For the development of biological weapons, the trials of prisoners of war were tested.
Inhuman experiments were carried out on Chinese, Soviet and Korean prisoners of war.
There is known for the use of bacterial weapons in battles against the Soviet Union and Mongolia in 1939. Special detachments of suicide volunteers have infected the Argun River, Halkin-Gol and Hulustay at once with several infections - abdominal typhoid, Siberian ulcers, Chuma, Cholera. As a result, 8 people died from dangerous infections from the Soviet-Mongolian troops. The rest of the 700 sick managed to help. But the Japanese side suffered much more, after this event the number of sick tithes, cholera and plague exceeded 8 thousand people.
Another event, when bacteriological weapons applied, was the battle at Cande 1941 - during the Japanese-Chinese war. In the city and its surroundings from the aircraft were reset infected fleas and grain-grain - bait for rats. As a result, an epidemic broke out, which for 4 months was abandoned by almost 8 thousand inhabitants of Chande.
This event served as a reason for the evacuation of the rest of the inhabitants. The Japanese took control of a deserted city destroyed by artillery shelling during an optional siege.
Tularemia, 1942, Battle near Stalingrad
In the turning battle with the Nazi troops on the side of the Soviet Union, field mice were performed. The plan was like this: rodents delivered to the location of the dislocation of German tanks, should have damaged the wiring in them and output. In addition, mice are carrying tularemia, bacterial infection that causes fever and general intoxication. It leads to death infrequently, but bringing the enemy from a combat-ready state is completely capable. 
Mice were out of order German technique and distributed Tularevia among German soldiers.
In early November 1942, before the preparing the onset of the Red Army, the mice were sent to the operation. Specially teaching rodents was not necessary, they just looked for warmth and food, thus climbed into the tanks and gnawed the insulation of electrical chains. A significant part of the tanks was indeed disabled, and the sick tanks were a bit, the reason for their illness, German doctors quickly installed.
Siberian ulcer, 1944, Plan "Vegetarian"
At the beginning of World War II, W. Churchill has prepared a plan for large-scale defeat of Nazi Germany by the disputes of Siberian ulcers. The name of the operation is "Vegetarian". The pathogen of this disease retains viability, while in the soil, over the century, and maybe longer. Mortality from the Siberian ulcers occurring in the gastrointestinal form is 60%. 
Gruntard Island, where the tests of biological weapons conducted, is considered one of the dangerous places on the planet.
After the spread of pathogenic disputes on pastures in Germany, impressive results were expected. Infection of agricultural livestock would lead to massive case and food crisis. Also, millions of people were to suffer from illness, half of which will not survive. Another result is the unsuitability of poisoned territories for the lives of people for many decades.
Airplanes and infected loaves were ready for 1944, but the British leadership did not give an order to implement a plan, since the course of the war by that time radically changed. In 45, infected billets were destroyed in a waste-margin factory.
The place where the tests of biological weapons were carried out, the Scottish Island of Grünard, was considered dangerous even for short-term stay. And after the solid measures held in 1986, when the top layer of the soil was removed and the remaining formaldehyde was impregnated, nobody wishes here.
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Biological weapons - these are pathogenic microorganisms or their disputes, viruses, bacterial toxins, infected people and animals, as well as their means of delivery (rockets, artillery shells, mortar mills, aircraft bombs, automatic drifting balloons) intended for massive damage to the living force and population of the enemy, Agricultural animals, crops crops, food infection and water sources, as well as deterioration of certain types of military equipment and military materials. It is a weapon of mass lesion and prohibited according to the Geneva Protocol of 1925.
The affecting effect of biological weapons is based primarily on the use of the pathogenic properties of pathogenic microorganisms and toxic products of their livelihoods.
Biological weapons are used in the form of various ammunition, its equipment uses some types of bacteria and viruses that excite infectious diseases that take appearance of epidemics. It is intended to defeat people, agricultural plants and animals, as well as to infect food and water sources.
The varieties of biological weapons are entomological weapons that use insects to attack the enemy, and genetic weapons intended for selective destruction of the population on racial, ethnic, sexually or other genetically due to the sign.
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The use of biological weapons, as a rule, are:
- battle parts missiles;
- aviation bombs;
- artillery mines and shells;
- packages (bags, boxes, containers), discharged from airplanes;
- special devices scattering insects from airplanes;
- divergent methods.
In some cases, for the spread of infectious diseases, the enemy can leave the infectious items in advance: clothes, products, cigarettes, etc. Disease in this case can occur as a result of direct contact with infected objects. It is also possible to deliberately leaving the waste of infectious patients so that they are the source of infection among the troops and the population. When gaping ammunition, equipped with bacterial recipe, a bacterial cloud is formed, consisting of the smallest droplets of liquid or solid particles suspended in the air. The cloud, spreading through the wind, dissipates and settles on the ground, forming an infected area, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich depends on the number of recipes, its properties and wind speed.
History of application
The use of peculiar biological weapons was known in ancient Rome, when the cities of the dead from the plague were transferred during the siege of the cities for the fortress walls to cause the epidemic among the defenders. Such measures were relatively effective, since in closed spaces, with a high population density and with a tangible lack of hygiene funds, such epidemics developed very quickly.
The use of biological weapons in modern history.
- 1346 - The beginning of the bubonic plague in Europe. There is a suggestion that this terrible "gift" made Khan Janibek. After an unsuccessful attempt to seize the city of Cafe (modern Feodosia), he threw a human corpse into the fortress who deceased from the plague. Together with merchants, in fear, fled from the city, the plague arrived in Europe.
- 1763 - The first specific historical fact of the use of bacteriological weapons in the war is the deliberate distribution of smallpox among the Indian tribes. American colonizers moved the blankets in their camp, infected with the causative agent of Phase: among the Indians there was an epidemic of smallpox.
- 1942 - United Kingdom: Operation Vegetarian plan for the use of Siberian ulcers in the war with Germany, carried out development and testing of weapons on the Gruinard island. The island was infected with the disputes of Siberian ulcers, 49 years remained on quarantine, was declared purified in 1990.
- - - Japan: A Manchurian squad 731 against 3 thousand people - as part of the development. As part of the tests - in combat operations in Mongolia and China. Also prepared plans for use in the districts of Khabarovsk, Blagoveshchensk, Ussuriysk, cheats. The data obtained was based on the basis of developments in the bacteriological center of the US Army Fort Detriton (Maryland) in exchange for protection against the persecution of the Employees of the detachment 731. However, the military-strategic result of combat application turned out to be more than modest: according to the "report of the International Scientific Commission for Investigating the Facts of the Bacteriological War in Korea and China" (Beijing, 1952) The number of victims of artificially induced plague from 1940 to 1945 was approximately 700 people, There was even less than the number of collapshed in the framework of the development of prisoners.
- On the same, the "report of the International Scientific Commission to Investigate the facts of the bacteriological war in Korea and China" (Beijing, 1952), during the Korean War, bacteriological weapons were used against the DPRK ("Only from January to March 1952 in 169 districts of the DPRK There were 804 cases of applying bacteriological weapons (in most cases - bacteriological airbabes), which caused epidemic diseases "). According to the assistant Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyacheslav Ustinov, after the war he studied the available materials and came to the conclusion that the use of bacteriological weapons cannot be confirmed by Americans.
- According to some researchers, the epidemic of the Siberian ulcers in Sverdlovsk in April 1979 was caused by leakage from the Laboratory of Sverdlovsk-19 of the Siberian bacteria or was the diversion of the American intelligence. These points of view considered the Russian microbiologist M. Supotitsky. According to the official Soviet version, the cause of the disease was the meat of infectious cows. April 4, 1992, in the 13th anniversary of the tragedy, B. N. Yeltsin signed the Law of the Russian Federation "On improving the pension provision of citizens of citizens who died due to the disease of the Siberian ulcer in the city of Sverdlovsk in 1979," equating the Sverdlovsk accident to Chernobyl and actually recognizing the responsibility of the military bacteriolers for the death of innocent people. The version of random leakage from the plant for the production of bio-based (Sverdlovsk-19) was once again confirmed by the President of the Russian Federation a month later.
- In -1962, in the territory of the modern Japanese prefecture, Okinawa United States conducted tests on spraying the dispute of pathogenic fungus causing pyriculiosis riceAccording to the results of which they managed to "achieve partial success in collecting useful information".
Features of biological weapon
With damage to bacterial or viral agents, the disease does not occur immediately, almost always there is a hidden (incubatory) period during which the disease does not show itself by external signs, and the amazed does not lose with combat capability. Some diseases (plague, cholera, Siberian ulcers) are capable of transmitted from a sick person healthy and, quickly extending, cause epidemics. To establish the fact of the use of bacterial agents and determine the type of pathogen is quite difficult, since neither microbes nor toxins have neither color, no odor, nor taste, but the effect of their action can manifest itself through a large period of time. The detection of bacteria and viruses is possible only by conducting special laboratory studies, which requires considerable time, which makes it difficult to carry out measures to prevent epidemic diseases.
Modern strategic means of biological weapons are used by mixtures of viruses and spores of bacteria to increase the likelihood of death when applied, however, they are used, as a rule, strains that are not transmitted from a person to man to geographically localize their impact and avoid due to these own losses.
Bacterial products
Bacterial products include pathogenic bacteria and toxins produced by them. For the equipment of biological weapons, causative agents or toxins of the following diseases can be used.
Biological weapons of mass lesion (Bo) is intended to destroy the personnel of military units, population, animal, agricultural land, damage sources of water, military equipment and individual types of weapons on the territory of the enemy.
Biochemical weapons are represented by toxins, viruses, microorganisms and the consequences of their livelihoods. Delivered by all kinds of rocket and artillery weapons, aviation. It is distributed by diseases of diseases (people, animals, natural natural processes).
The use of biological weapons of mass lesion in history
Viruses as weapons of mass lesion were used since time immemorial. Below is a table that lists the first reports of biological weapons used by opponents in military conflicts.
Date, year Event III century BC Historians confirmed the fact of applying "natural" biological weapons. In the sieges of fortresses and fortified settlements, the warriors of the great commander of that time Hannibal from Carthage was concluded into clay tanks of poisonous snakes and moved them in the enemy. Together with the defeat of the defenders of the bite of reptiles, Panic came across and humiliated the will to victory 1346 The first experience of using biological means of destroying the population by the spread of the plague. In the siege of the Kafa (today - Feodosia, Crimea), the Mongols were subjected to a biological epidemic of this disease. They are forced to retreat, but before that, the corpses of their patients moved through the city walls, provoking the death of defenders of the fortress 1518 The statehood of Aztecs, as well as they themselves were destroyed with an abscess, which was brought by Spaniard Konkistador E. Cortes. The rapid spread of the disease was provided by the mass transfer of things to the Aboriginal, previously owned by patients on the mainland 1675 It became possible to study the microprocessions of breeding, mutation of pathogens of diseases, since the doctor from Holland A. Levlaku was invented by the first microscope 1710 Russian-Swedish war. The plague was used for military purposes. Russians won, including, with the help of infection of the enemy's living force, through the bodies of their own soldiers who died from a plaque infection 1767 Anglo-French Military confrontation. British General D. Amherst destroyed the Indians who support the French, giving them the contaminated blankets 1855 L. Paster (French scientist) began the era of discoveries in microbiology 1915 World War I. Allies, the French and the Germans applied the method of infection of animals by Siberian ulcers. Herd of horses and cows were vaccinated and distilled into the enemy territory 1925 The consequences of the use of biological weapons, the impossibility of controlling the processes associated with it, forced the leading countries of the world to sign the Geneva convection on the ban on its use for military purposes. Only the United States and Japan have not joined the Convention 1930-1940 Japanese military scientists conduct mass experiments in China. Historically, the fact of death of several hundred people in the city of Chuschen from the bubonic plague, where the infection occurred as a result of the Experiment of the Japanese 1942 The fact of experimental infection of the Siberian ulcer of sheep livestock on the remote island of Scotland is established. Stop the experiment was not possible. In order to avoid further dissemination of the disease, it was necessary to destroy everything alive on the island of Napalm 1943 The year when the United States talked to the creation of biological weapons. Pentagon decided to use invisible to human eye viruses as a weapon of mass lesion 1969 Unilaterally, US representatives declared the further non-use of biological weapons 1972 The Convention on Biological and Toxic Weapons has been adopted. Development, production and any operations with such a weapon are prohibited. The entry into force is delayed 1973 America's statement on the destruction of all types of biological weapons, with the exception of a small amount under experimental purposes 1975 The Convention entered into legal force 1979 In Yekaterinburg (previously Sverdlovsk), the outbreak of the Siberian ulcers, which inserted 64 human lives. The disease is localized in a short time. Reliable reason was officially announced 1980 The world found out that there is a smallpox destroyed 1980-1988 The confrontation of Iran and Iraq. Biological weapons were used by both parties 1993 Attempt to the terrorist attack of the Siberian ulcer in the Metro Tokyo extremists of the organization "AUM SHINRIKYO" 1998 States initiate a mandatory vaccination of servicemen from Siberian ulcers 2001 USA. The terrorists send letters with the disputes of Siberian ulcers, as a result of which several American citizens were infected and died. The history of the creation of biological weapons and its use, as can be seen from the above table, there are many facts of using combat viruses.
Definition and classification of biological weapons
Biological weapons from other types of mass affixing means distinguishes the following:
- Biological bomb causes epidemic. The use of Bo is accompanied by mass infection of living beings and territories for a small amount of time;
- Toxicity. For the defeat, low doses of the causative agent of the disease are necessary;
- Distribution rate. Transmission of components Bo is carried out through air, direct contacts, mediation of objects, etc.;
- Incubation period. The emergence of the first signs of the disease can be observed after a long period of time;
- Conservation. In certain states, causative agents of diseases have a long latent period until the activation conditions occur;
- Square infection. The imitation of the spread of Bo showed that even aerosols in limited quantities can infect targets at a distance of up to 700.0 km;
- Psychological action. In areas where weapons have been used, panic always registered, fear of people for their own life, as well as the impossibility of performing everyday tasks.
Types of biological weapons (briefly)
To understand what is included in the composition of biological weapons, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the data given in the table.
Name Description Photo OSP The disease is caused by a natural smallpox virus. Female outcome in 30.0% of infected people. Accompanied by critical temperatures, rash, ulcers. 
Yazva Siberian Bo class "A". Comfortable Credit for bacteria - soil. Animals are infected from contact with grass, and people through breath or falling into the oral cavity. Symptoms: Fever, difficulty breathing, growth of lymph nodes, joint pain and muscles, vomiting, diarrhea, similar. The level of mortality is high. 
Hemorrhagic fever Ebola The course of the disease is represented by abundant bleeding. Infection comes from contact with the blood of the patient or secretions. Incubation from two to twenty one day. Symptoms: pain in muscles, joints, diarrhea, bleeding of internal organs. Mortality 60.0-90.0%, with incubation of 7-16 days. 
Plague There is in two forms: bubonic and light. It applies to insects and direct contact with the discharge of the patient. Symptoms: Swimming grooves, fever, chills, weakness, and so on. Their first appearance through one is six days. Mortality 70.0%, if the treatment has not begun for the first time a day of infection.
Tularemia Infection occurs through insect bites, contact with patients with animals or after consuming infected products. Symptoms: progressive weakness, joint pain and muscles, diarrhea and sometimes similar to pneumonia. Signs manifest themselves through three - five days. Mortality not more than 5.0% 
Botulic toxin Refers to the class "A". Transferred to air-droplet way. Symptoms are manifested for one and a half days and are presented: violation of the work of visual organs, difficult to swallowing.
Without immediate treatment causes paralysis of the muscles and respiratory system. Mortality 70.0%
Pyriculiosis rice The action is directed towards the damage of crops. The disease is provoked by the pyricularia oryzae mushroom. There is more than 200 strains. 
Cattle plague The disease applies to all types of ruminant animals. Infection occurs rapidly. Symptoms: change of mucous membranes, diarrhea, high temperature, loss of food intake and similar. Female outcome due to dehydration after six - ten days. The livestock with infected animals is destroyed. 
The carrier of the virus is not accurately installed. It was manifested in 1999 in Malaysia, where 265 people were infected with an outbreak, with a fatal outcome in 105 cases. Symptoms: from influenza to replenishment of the brain. Death with a 50% probability of 6-10 days. 
Chimera virus Can be created by combining DNA of various viruses. For example: colds and poliomyelitis; Shaws - Ebola fever and the like. Cases of application are not fixed. The consequences are not predictable. 
Protection against MAC
Protection against weapons of mass lesion (OMP) is represented by a complex of measures aimed at maximizing the impact of bacteriological (nuclear, chemical, biological) enemy weapons per residents, military formations, economic objects, as well as the environment.
At the events attract:
- intelligence units of all kinds of troops;
- engineering, motorized rifle units;
- military (civilian) doctors;
- chemical, veterinary and other services;
- management of administrations and enterprises and other officials, where their responsibilities are associated with the population.
Protection of the population. It provides:
- learning the basics of OMP;
- building protective structures;
- preliminary preparation of food and essential items;
- evacuation of the population into the country zones;
- timely alert;
- emergency rescue work;
- medical assistance to victims;
- providing personal protective equipment;
- monitoring the status of terrain, exploration and control of changes.
Protection of agricultural animals Includes:
- dispersal of animal fund for farms with air filtration equipment;
- preparation of feed and water;
- processing veterinary agents;
- organization of work to curb the recurrence of infections;
- vaccination, other means of preventing infection;
- monitoring the state and timely detection of abnormalities from the norm of health.
Protection of plants Presented:
- cultivation of crops resistant to the impact of malicious media;
- seed fund conservation activities;
- carrying out preventive measures;
- destruction of sites where cultures could have obtained a pathogenic effect due to the use of OV and Bo.
Food Protection:
- equipment of warehouse premises, taking into account the possible use of the OMP;
- dispersing existing food reserves;
- move into specially equipped cars;
- use of special packaging;
- deartition activities (disinfection) of food and containers.
Protection of water sources Presented:
- in the organization of centralized water supply, take into account the likelihood of the use of OMP;
- open water sources deepen;
- systems are equipped with additional special filters;
- the preparation of reserve watercourses is carried out;
- organized round-the-clock protection;
- permanent verification of water condition with deep analysis is carried out.
The timely receipt of intelligence information about the OMP, which includes all types of biological weapons, the opponent significantly reduces the onset of possible consequences, gives the time to conduct protective events comprehensively.
Biological Weapon Convention
Convention on the prohibition of the development, production and accumulation of reserves of bacteriological means of mass lesion (modern biological weapons) and their destruction (CBTO) - is the result of many years of international activities after adopted in Geneva Protocol (signed on 06/17/1925, entered into force on 8.02.1928) Prohibition of applications in the war of suffocating, poisonous or other similar gases and bacteriological means (Geneva Protocol).
countries signed CBTO conditions
CBTO conditions (signed 10.04.1972, entered into force on 03/26/1975) adopted in 163 countries. The United States joined the CBTO in 1972, but refused to sign the protocols providing a number of measures to control its implementation.
The further work of the international community to organize the activities of the CBTO is pressed by the results of review conferences:
date Decision 1986 Annual report on the measures taken by the member countries. 1991 Created by the expert group "VEREX" 1995-2001 The negotiation process on the system of monitoring the requirements of the Convention 2003 The issue of the interstate mechanism for ensuring the safety of bo 2004 Committed about international measures to investigate the facts of presumptive use of Bo and mitigate consequences. At the same time, the powers of international institutions were expanded when revealing outbreaks of infections. 2005 Approved the provisions of the Code of Response and Conduct of the Scientist Community. 2006 The final text of the declaration is adopted and the decision has been made to further implement the CBTO. To date, effective control mechanisms have not been created to verify information on the absence of biological weapons. With a certain share of confidence, it can be argued that such research has not ceased to specialists from individual foreign countries. For example, in NATO laboratories, a biological rifle is developed with discontinuous bullets, which can create local foci of bacteriological infection of the dislocation of military units of the enemy.
This is evidenced by periodic outbreaks of epidemic diseases in different parts of the world. But international deterrence mechanisms guarantee the safety of the population of Russia.
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