Cholera as a Biological Agent in Bioterrorism Essay

Cholera as a Biological Agent in Bioterrorism
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Cholera as a Biological Agent in Bioterrorism
Introduction
Bioterrorism refers to a planned and intentional use of pathogens like bacteria, viruses, or toxins to deliberately cause mass murder in a heavily populated area (Pinto, 2013). The use of biological weapons is becoming common in today’s terrorist attacks due to ease of production and availability of biological agents (Riedel, 2014). According to Riedel (2014), the progress made in biochemistry and biotechnology in the previous century has simplified the production of such weapons. Various factors, including the agent itself, its durability, and the path of infection, determine how a biological weapon is used (Federal of American Scientists, 2013).
Terrorists can contaminate food or water with biological agents. They can also disburse some agents as an aerosol to be inhaled. Today, many radical groups seek to acquire biological agents to kill their targets because they are easy to launch compared to nuclear, chemical, and radiological categories. This paper explains the concept of biological weapons using cholera to conduct attacks in a targeted city. In particular, it describes how cholera could be used to perform a terrorist event in Chesapeake, Virginia. The paper further provides initiatives to prevent such an attack in the city.
Selected CBRN Agent Background
The CBRN category selected is biological, with cholera as the bioterror agent. Cholera is a severe water-borne disease caused by the Vibrio cholera bacterium, which can be used as a biological weapon by contaminating water and food supplies (Daniszewski, 2013). Cholera is widely known as a deadly disease that has caused a global phenomenon throughout history. Its essential weapon, the Vibrio cholera bacterium, often enables cholera to control and wipe out a large percentage of the human population (Daniszewski, 2013). V. Cholerae's toxins are the leading causes of cholera's deadly symptoms. The bacterium has toxins that allow it to invade the human system and overwhelm the body’s immune system (Hooker, 2020). Studies show that V. Cholerae is one of the most dominant pathogens that cause the villainous deadly diarrhea (Daniszewski, 2013). Generally, this bacterium has made cholera challenging to control. Due to its virulence factors, cholera has become one of the terrifying water-borne diseases humans experience.
The cholera bacterium is usually found in contaminated water or food. It implies that that for it to be used as a biological weapon to conduct terrorist attacks, water or food supplied in the city must be contaminated (Hooker, 2020). Significant drinking water supplies in the region would need to be highly contaminated to cause an outbreak. Those infected with cholera develop symptoms like watery vomiting, diarrhea, and leg cramps (Hooker, 2020). In these people, rapid loss of body fluids results in dehydration and shock. Without treatment, death can occur within hours.
Proposed Terrorist Scenario
To conduct terrorist attacks in Chesapeake, Virginia, terrorists will heavily contaminate significant d...