Forms of biological agent

As with chemicals, biological hazards may be transported by any of the following forms of agent. 

Moulds are a particular group of very small fungi which, under damp conditions, will grow on things such as walls, bread, cheese, leather and canvas. They can be beneficial (penicillin) or cause allergic reactions (asthma). Asthma attacks, athlete s foot and farmer s lung are all examples of fungal infections. 

Blue green algae is another biological hazard which contaminates drinking water and provides food for the legionella bacteria. 

Viruses are minute non-cellular organisms which can only reproduce within a host cell. They are very much smaller than bacteria and cannot be controlled by antibiotics. They appear in various shapes and are continually developing new strains. They are usually only defeated by the defence and healing mechanisms of the body. Drugs can be used to relieve the symptoms of a viral attack but cannot cure it. The common cold is a viral infection as are hepatitis, AIDS (HIV) and influenza. 

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This section addresses the bacterial forms of biological agents that would most likely be considered by terrorists ... 

This section addresses the viral forms of biological agents that would most likely be considered by terrorists. They include variola major (smallpox), Venezuelan equine encephalitis (encephalitis), Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Rift Valley hemorrhagic fever. 

Main forms of biological agent, ie zoonoses, which can cause harm to the body bacilli, viruses, leptospira, etc. 

The situation with some forms of biological deterioration is somewhat different. Where the agent is macrobiological, as in the case of rodents, insects, and marine borers, the attack is physical in nature, such as by gnawing or boring. The attack is not at the atomic or molecular level. Any breaking of molecular bonds such as in polymer chain shortening is thus accidental. The attack may be said to be at the material s structural level, not the polymer molecule level. 

In antiquity, natural toxins were exploited to make poison weapons to wage the earliest forms of biological and chemical warfare. A wide range of substances, from toxic plants and venomous insects and reptiles to infectious agents and noxious chemicals, were weaponized in ancient Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, China, and in the Americas. Evidence for the concept and practice of toxic warfare can be traced back thousands of years. Eor example, cuneiform tablets from about 1200 bc record that the Hittites of Asia Minor deliberately drove plague victims into enemy territory. 

Agent is a term used to indicate a specific form of biological or chemical entity that could be employed in a military environment. Biological agents... 

Comment. It was a response to physico-chemical inducers,that the ancient cells managed to survive by activating their cell survival pathways. Antiviral self-defense mechanisms were installed. In the end, the descendants of the single cells, and their viruses both remain in existence, forming the largest biomass on Earth. The primordial cell survival pathways remained conserved in the form of much more elaborate, and interrelated sequences In the stem and somatic cells of multicellular hosts. In addition to physico-chemical inducers, it is an armada of biological agents... 

Furylfuramide. a[(5-Nitro-2-furaiiyl)-2-methylene]-2-furaiiacetamide, withdrawn from the market in Japan in 1974 because of mutagenicity, is prepared by condensation of 5-nitro-2-furancarboxaldehyde with 2-furanacetic acid followed by chlorination and amination (30). The isomerization of cis to trans form of fudyfuramide has been shown to occur in the presence of a variety of biological reducing agents (31). 

Many kits contain the indicated biologically active ingredient in a lyophilized form with stannous chloride. A Tc-labeled radiopharmaceutical, which can be used for six hours, is formed when mixed with Tc pertechnetate. Preparation of the agent is at room temperature, unless otherwise stated. Technetium-99m. Available Tc kits are Hsted below. 

The first step is to identify the substances present at the workplace. As a starting point, knowledge of the process is needed in order to formulate a list of all chemical agents used in the establishment. The list should include not only primary products but also intermediate and final products, as well as reaction products and by-products. For the chemical agents in the list, it is necessary to know their chemical properties, especially hazardous ones their OEL values, including biological limit values and, where these are not available, other technical criteria that can be used to evaluate the risk. It is also helpful to include any information on the safety and health risks of those substances provided by the supplier or other readily available sources. This information on dangerous substances and preparations, in the form of safety data sheets, is intended primarily for industrial users, to enable them to take the measures necessary to ensure the safety and health of workers. 

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