Effects Of Biological Warfare

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Biological warfare effects on Biodiversity Biological weapons are considered as one of the most destructive known weapons. It is used to deliberately cause epidemics among humans and to destroy the environment including water, air and soil. It is also targeting agricultural crops and livestock. Examples of diseases used in biological warfare: anthrax, smallpox, plague, cholera, and avian flu. In addition to the catastrophic effects of biological weapons, the danger lies in their low cost, rapid spread, ease of preparation, transport and use compared to other mass destruction weapons. Unlike nuclear and chemical bombs, biological bombs are without the odor or color and therefore it can’t not be detected or discovered. The risk of biological…show more content…
As these pathogens are not only remaining epidemically in nature for several years, but also they are resisting difficult environmental conditions. There are a wide variety and large number of diseases that can contaminate air and are used in biological warfare, fungi are the most well known, Fungi travel by air over long distances to infect healthy plants with diseases such as rust. Food contamination is one of the most powerful methods used to carry out germ warfare attacks, when infection is transmitted directly to humans through contaminated food or drink, or indirectly by intermediary agents. Water can carries a numbaer of deadly diseases. For example, Clostridium tetani is one of the most powerful weapons used in warfare,as one gram of this poison is able to kill eight million people within six hours. To double the damage on both animals and human, common disease microbes such as foot-and-mouth disease, cowpox, pox, scarlet fever and many others are used. Biological warfare threats to…show more content…
It is worth to mention that the diseases that humans and local species of animals and plants have been able to develop immunity to, can be fatal in wild animals. Biological weapons are not only having direct effects on the genetic diversity of indigenous plants and animals, but also it is having direct and indirect catastrophic effects on vital plant and animal communities. The threat of biological weapons to animal biodiversity: Conservation of livestock breeds is essential to maintaining genetic diversity, which in turn is important to increase the ability of living organisms to adapt to the environment changes. The danger of biological weapons to animal biodiversity is threefold: 1. The direct impact of disease on wild
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