Infectious Diseases in Critical Care Medicine

Table 2

A Brief History of Biological Warfare and Bioterrorism

Dates

Biological agent(s)

Method of delivery

Comments

12th to 15th centuries BC

Diseased animals and

prisoners

Hittites herd diseased animals and people into

enemy territory.

6th century BC

Rye ergot

Assyrians poison enemy wells.

300 BC to the 19th century

Rotting animal carcasses

Contaminating wells and drinking water supplies.

Utilized by Greek city-states against their enemies.

Similar methods used in later times by theRomans, Persians, and in Europe during theMedieval and Renaissance times, and during thesiege of Vicksburg during the American CivilWar.

184 BC

“Serpents” probably snakes

Hurling snakes in pots onto the decks of warships.

Hannibal the Carthaginian attacking King

Eumeneus of Pergarium.

1346 (Kaffa);

1422 (Carolstein);and 1710 (Revat)

Y. pestis

Catapulting plague victims over the wall of the

besieged city of Kaffa.

The Russians repeated this with plague victims

while battling the Swedes at Revat.

Tartars used the bodies of their own soldiers who

died of the plague to defeat the Genoese. Thisevent and similar events accelerated the plaguepandemic of the middle ages.

1532–1533

Smallpox

Pizzaro gave smallpox-laden clothing to the Incas.

1754–1767 French and

Indian Wars

Smallpox

Blankets from smallpox patients were sent to the

Indians fighting for the French by the British byLord Jeffrey Amherst.

Epidemic killed up to 50% of targeted tribes.

Amherst the town and college named in LordJeffrey’s honor.

1915

V. cholera, Y. pestis,

B. Anthracis,

and

Bk. mallei

Germany intended to infect Romanian sheep for

export to Russia with

B. anthracis

and

Bk. mallei

,

and introduce cholera into Italy and plague intoSt. Petersburg.

Cultures were confiscated.

WWI

B. pseudomallei

German agents infect horses and mules on the

eastern front.

Human cases increase during and after WWI.

1920s

Russia initiates its biological

warfare programs

The Vector facility in Koltsovo is known to work with

smallpox and hemorrhagic fever viruses.

1932–1945

B. anthracis, Y. pestis,

Neisseria meningitidis,Shigella

spp.

, V. cholera,

Salmonella

spp.

Japan’s Unit 732: sprayed cultures, contaminated

water supplies, and dropped plague-infectedfleas over Chinese cities.

10,000 prisoners died as a result of

experimentation; 210,000 Chinese in 11 citiesdied because of contaminated water and foodsupplies, some from spraying of

B. anthracis

,

V. cholerae

,

Shigella

spp., and

Salmonella

spp.

cultures; 1700 Japanese troops died in 1942mostly from cholera contracted from their ownbioweapons.

(Continued )

Bioterrorism Infections in Critical Care 435