Types of Biochemical Weapons
- Nerve agents are chemical agents which initially stimulate, and then paralyze some nerve transmissions throughout the body and result in other toxic effects like, seizures. One of the physical properties of nerve agents is that they are volatile liquids, this means that they can evaporate quickly. The most volatile nerve agent is Sarin, which evaporates at the same rate as water. Other nerve agents include soman, tabun, VX and cyclohexylsarin.
- Sulfur mustard is a chemical weapon used since World War I. Nitrogen mustard is a derivative of sulfur mustard and is one of the first mustard agents ever created. Mustard agents cause a blistering of exposed skin surfaces because they penetrate cells and generate a very toxic reaction that disrupts the function of cells and leads to cell death. Mustards are oily liquids which smell like mustard, horseradish or onion.
- Anthrax is a biological warfare agent that comes from bacterial organisms known as Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax infection occurs mainly through the skin, and on rare occasions, through breathing or swallowing spores. Anthrax in humans is rare and biological warfare is the main way people become infected with anthrax. When anthrax enters the skin through cuts or abrasions, it becomes active in the host and produces poisonous toxins that may cause bleeding, swelling and tissue death.
- Staphylococcal enterotoxin B, or SEB, is one of the most recognized toxins. This toxin is responsible for food poisoning. However, when people encounter the toxin in the air in a biological warfare situation, it creates different symptoms; a small inhaled dose can lead to serious incapacitation within 24 hours. It is a biological warfare agent.
- Variola, the virus responsible for smallpox, is the most lethal of poxviruses. Is a major biological warfare agent because variola virus is highly infectious when airborne and has a high death rate. Once a person contracts the virus, it multiplies in the person's respiratory tract and further spreads through the bloodstream to the lymph nodes, and then into smaller blood vessels near the surface of the skin where inflammation causes the smallpox rash to begin.
