VIRAL AGENTS

Viruses are intracellular parasites and are the simplest type of microorganism and consist of a nucleocapsid protein coat containing genetic material, either RNA or DNA. In some cases the virus particle is also surrounded by an outer layer of lipids. Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and vary in size (about 100 times smaller) from 0.02 m m to 0.2 m m (1 m m = 1/1000 mm). They can infect humans, crops, or domestic animals. An example of a virus, the alpha virus that causes Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis. VEE virus causes a highly infectious disease that incapacitates but rarely kills. The virus strength can be altered to increase its efficiency. A particularly powerful strain of an endemic pathogen could simply be blamed on a chance natural mutation. Viruses lack a system for their own metabolism and are therefore dependent on the synthetic machinery of their host cells.. This also means that the virus, unlike the bacterium, cannot be cultivated in synthetic nutritive solutions but requires living cells in order to multiply. The host cells can be from human beings, animals, plants, or bacteria. Every virus needs its own special type of host cell because a complicated interaction is required between the cell and virus if the virus is to be able to multiply. Many virus-specific host cells can be cultivated in synthetic nutrient solutions and afterwards can be infected with the virus in question. Another usual way of cultivating viruses is to let them grow on chorioallantoic membranes (from fertilized eggs). The cultivation of viruses is costly, demanding, and time-consuming. A virus normally brings about changes in the host cell such that the cell dies. These pages cover viruses considered by some to be the most likely viral agent that would be used in a BW attack.

Botulinum
 Hand & Mouth Disease
Ricin
Smallpox
Staff B
T 2
  VEE
 
VHF

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Updated April 14,, 2002 Copyright © : MMI - MMII Alaska Chris