OTHER
BACTERIAL AGENTS
Yersinia pestis , the causative agent of plague, was responsible for
the notorious Black Death epidemics of the Middle Ages. It is highly
infectious, the death rate is high, and it kills fast. Bubonic plague is spread
by fleas; the more dangerous pneumonic form is spread from person to person
directly via the air. Around World War II, plague was in vogue. The Japanese apparently
tested bubonic plague on prisoners and also tried small-scale airborne dispersal
of infected fleas carrying plague on the Chinese. This had little effect—partly
because plague was endemic in China and already in natural circulation. The
British biological warfare center at Porton Down maintained large-scale plague
cultures for several years following World War II. In the 1960s the United
States apparently experimented with spreading plague among rodents in Viet Nam,
Laos, and Cambodia, again with little effect. Needless to say, this is
officially denied. Since then, plague seems to have gone out of fashion.
Other bacteria qualify as potential
bacterial agents. Brucellosis, caused by Brucella , is a disease of
cattle, camels, goats, and related animals. Brucellosis was developed as a
biological weapon by the United States from 1954 to 1969, though the choice
seems curious. In humans it behaves erratically, both in the time for symptoms
to emerge and the course of the disease. Though human victims often fall
severely ill for several weeks, it is rarely fatal, even if untreated.
Tularemia , caused by Francisella tularensis , is a disease of rodents
or birds that has a death rate of 5% to 10% in humans, if untreated. It is highly
infectious and generally regarded as an incapacitating rather than a lethal
agent. It is still considered a possible threat. Melioidosis, caused by the
bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei , is related to glanders ( Burkholderia
mallei ). Glanders is a disease of horses, and melioidosis is a rare disease
of rodents from the Far East that is spread by rat fleas. Despite the pseudo-
in its name, melioidosis is more virulent than glanders and is fatal some
95% of the time in humans.
Related Topics
Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, DMCA Policy and Compliant
Copyright © 2018-2023 BrainKart.com; All Rights Reserved. Developed by Therithal info, Chennai.