Características de los agentes biológicos

  1. Javier Vicente Sánchez 1
  2. Domingo Marquina Díaz 1
  3. José Ignacio Castro Torres 2
  1. 1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Complutense de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR 02p0gd045

  2. 2 Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos (IEEE)
    info

    Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos (IEEE)

    Madrid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/00mpvse27

Journal:
Cuadernos de estrategia

ISSN: 1697-6924

Year of publication: 2022

Issue Title: La amenaza biológica

Issue: 217

Pages: 65-84

Type: Article

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More publications in: Cuadernos de estrategia

Abstract

Some biological agents can be used as offensive weapons (bacteria, rickettsiae, viruses, filamentous fungi, protists or toxins), obtained from natural strains or by genetic modification or selection in the laboratory of any of them. All of them have a series of characteristics that allow them to be considered as potential weapons and that are decisive for their choice. Intrinsic factors (specific to the agent) such as its level of pathogenicity, degree of virulence, incubation time or form of transmission and extrinsic factors (environmental factors) wind, humidity, temperature, light, entry routes. Another series of factors to take into account when choosing a biological agent are related to its ease and low cost to be produced (growth temperature, nutritional requirements, production scaling, agent stabilization, etc.). It is also necessary to evaluate the advantages of its use, the disadvantages of its use, determine which is going to be the ideal place for its use and what properties it has from the offensive point of view. It is very important to know the types of pathologies that they can produce. Among the agents that could potentially be used in a biological attack, the most probable evaluated by an exhaustive analysis of the previous factors would be Bacillius anthracis (producing agent of anthrax), Yersinia pestis (producing the plague), Variola virus (producer of Smallpox) and the virus that produces monkeypox and ricin poisoning. This study may be useful for a reasoned evaluation to determine the potential of different biological agents as well as to estimate their employment risks.

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