Biomedical Weapon : A Cold Weapon (Paper)
- Yukta Singh, Llyod Law College, Greater Noida
- August 29, 2021
Content :
In this modern age, to achieve an ideological, financial, religious or political aim, humans have begun conducting the intentional use of indiscriminate violence to create fear and terror which is commonly known as ‘Terrorism’. Terrorism is often used against non-combatant targets. There are many terror tactics such as biological, chemical, nuclear, or explosive events. The word ‘Terrorism’ connotes the use of force or violence outside the law to create fear among citizens with the intent to coerce some sort of action.
Considering the riotous advances in biotechnology, the threat of bioterrorism is the most plausible when compared to other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). In the recent epidemic of H1N1 which claimed over 2,300 lives, it becomes a threat which India is not well prepared for as highlighted through this epidemic. The rapid rise in fundamentalism and extremism position of Pakistan, the precarious security environment in South Asia, the cloud of civil war in Afghanistan, the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Chinese intellectuals capturing the map of India further accentuate this threat.
Due to the increased threat of terrorism, the risk that is created by various microorganisms as biological weapons are required to be evaluated and the historical development with the use of biological agents should be better understood.
The addition of genetic engineering holds the most dangerous potential. In this paper, the historical perceptive of BIOMEDICAL TERRORISM is described in detail which was the basis of introducing this critical situation in this modernized period. The paper seeks to fill the lacuna from the dearth of literature regarding this field of biology.
While shedding light on the current state of the art, the research looks into exactly how these techniques can be used to create artificial viruses and bacteria that can be used as a disease-carrying mechanism. The paper deals with how biotechnology can also be used to defend against the impending threat of biological weapons.
The revolution in biotechnology has brought forth several cutting-edge technologies, which can potentially provide an actual advantage against the threat of biological weapons. There has been support for the idea of using this science to combat biological warfare or reduce the impact of the same. Perhaps, the ease of production and the broad capability of biological agents with technical knowledge led to a further spread of biological weapons. This paper evaluates the types, evaluation, and treatment of biological terrorism and discusses the role of the inter-professional team in evaluating and treating catastrophic events associated with this terrorism.
