Question about Chemical/Biological Weapons

[82Rigger]

If the Iraqis use chemical weapons, I'm pretty sure our guys will know right away because (I'm pretty sure) they have "sniffers"
that will detect the chemicals.

But what about biological weapons? How does that work?
Does somebody have to develop symptoms of a disease before we know?

Airborne! Steve / 82Rigger

[catman]

Steve...for most known Biological weapons symptoms occur before we know that they have been used. The most common is Botulism, a very severe food poisoning. Most often the poisoning does not kill, it incapacitates you and the enemy overruns your position killing you. Most bio weapons have a very short half life so the enemy can follow behind an attack within hours just a you are becoming sick and wipe you out. Dirty pool!

Trav

[82Rigger]

...thanx for the ifo.

I've heard of Botulinum. Isn't that the bacteria that likes to grow in a slightly acid environment? Like canned tomatoes?
I remember being told never to eat canned veggies if the can is swollen.
I've heard that one gram of that stuff can kill hundreds of thousands of people.
Don't know how fast it works though.

The only bio the media have talked about much is Anthrax.
But I suppose there are other effective ones.
Smallpox, maybe? What else?

Airborne! Steve / 82Rigger

[catman]

Steve...almost any virus can be weaponized and used as a biological WMD. Think back to when you were a kid or when you took your kids to the doctor, He would say, "It's just a virus and has to run it's course." These viruses are biological infections. Under normal circumstances your body can fight off the infection and in a few days you feel fine. Once you weaponize a virus you kind of put it on steroids if you will. It becomes super strength and kills or severely incapacitates you so you can not fight.

There is literally hundreds of biological weapons...anthrax, botulism, polio, the flu, typhoid, para-typhoid, cholera, plague, pneumonia, small pox, chicken pox, measles, mumps, TB, etc....

Trav

[1CAVCCO15MED]

A lesson from history

The Plague or as it was called the Black Death killed a third of Europe in the Middle Ages. It was started by biological warfare. The Turks were beseiging a town and catapulted bodies that had died of the Plague into the town.

Ring around the rosey
A pocket full of poseys
Ashes to ashes
We all fall down.