June 19, 2024

Monique Nguyen

10th Grade

Fountain Valley High School

Achoo! In this world, there are good germs, bad germs, and germ weapons. Biological warfare has reigned as a critical threat in history, yet its dangers are especially underexposed in the modern era. Its primary definition is the deliberate use of biological weapons, such as illness-causing agents, to harm either humans, animals, or plants. These agents take on multiple forms including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and toxins. Some of the most common are smallpox, tularemia, anthrax, botulism, and hemorrhagic fever viruses, whose effects can range from mild allergies to serious conditions. However, most biological weapons are used to induce death and have the potential to create epidemics and pandemics, which is why they are classified as weapons of mass destruction. However, the use of these weapons is broad in effect, materializing in various situations with different causes, uses, and consequences.

Some of the most sordid murder cases in history involve the use of biological weapons. A rather gruesome example was when the French unknowingly drank human blood in 1495. During the Naples Campaign in Italy, Spanish soldiers used blood from leprosy and syphilis patients as a way to sicken and kill enemy troops. Once again in Europe, there are records of events such as when 12th-century corpses were thrown into wells to contaminate drinking water and Mongolian troops had hurled bodies that were infected with the Black Death into a city during the siege of Kaffa. The use of biological weapons has appeared in U.S. history as well. During the French-Indian War, British soldiers had handed out blankets secretly containing traces of smallpox to enemy Native Americans. In the Civil War, the Confederates sold clothing to patients in disease wards of yellow fever and smallpox. Needless to say, biological weapons have always been a cruel and disastrous double-edged sword in history, but cases have surprisingly appeared in more modern times too. Bioterrorism was used to manipulate a political election in 1984 when the Rajneeshees, a cult group that dominated Wasco County, Oregon, influenced the voting results by spreading Salmonella at a local restaurant. They aimed to elevate some of their cult members in politics by depressing voter turnout and convincing the homeless in their favor. Another case involving politics occurred very recently in 2001 around the time of the 9/11 Al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center. During the recovery period, Congress members received letters filled with Anthrax powder, which is a bacteria that enters by skin contact and inhalation and can cause major lung problems among other damages. 

Are biological weapons a major cause for concern today? It seems unlikely, especially as there have been fewer deaths by biological weapons than by traditional methods such as shootings or bombings. Biowarfare was also outlawed during the Geneva Convention in 1925, which prohibits the use of biological weapons, including chemical weapons, in warfare. However, agroterrorism, where terrorists attack livestock and agriculture using biological weapons, is still a viable possibility. There is evidence of the terrorist group Al Qaeda planning to attack America’s food supply in 2002 when agroterrorism training manuals and U.S. documents were discovered in Al Qaeda sanctuaries. Though some may argue that this topic is illegal, rare, and exaggerated, national agricultural defenses and public safety is a priority as biological weapons are a potential hazard today.