square miles of the San Francisco Bay area. Scientists reported that nearly all of the 800,000 inhabitants of the city had inhaled the bacteria (Hay, 1984).To cause an epidemic, an enemy would select a highly contagious virus or bacteria. They would decide whether to use an extremely lethal agent or one that would temporarily incapacitate a population or army to weaken defenses. Most biological weapons are influenza viruses or pneumonic plague bacillus. These meet the requirement of being highly contagious by human contact. As an example, an estimated 20 million people died in the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and 1919 – just three percent of those infected. Surprisingly, then, this great loss of life actually represents a low mortality rate (Solomon, 1999).For incapacitating the target, brucellosis is preferred. This is a chronic infection caused by the Brucella species of bacteria. A person can be infected by skin contact, by eating or drinking infected material, or by inhaling the organism. This is also an agent that can be produced easily in fermenters. Symptoms vary, but common are a severe chill, a recurring fever, sweating, headache, loss of appetite, extreme exhaustion, aching joints and depression. The symptoms last upwards of four weeks, but relapses can continue for years (Hay, 1984).The most well known form of brucellosis is anthrax. Aggressors favor this primarily because it is lethal and relatively easy to manufacture. Anthrax is caused by the bacterium bacillus anthracis, and is spread by skin contact, contact with infected animals, or by inhaling or ingesting the agent. The mortality rate is highest when infected by inhalation, at eighty per cent of untreated cases. The danger of anthrax is long term as well. Forty years after being tested on Gruinard, the island is still contaminated with the bacterium (Solomon, 1999).Although the danger of biological weapons increases as technology progresses,...
