Submitted by Harold Saive

Strategies for the Prevention of a Successful Biological Warfare Aerosol Attack (1996)

MILITARY MEDICINE – Vol. 161, May 1996
MILITARY MEDICINE, 161,5:251, 1996
COL Stanley L. Wiener, MC USAR
PDF: – https://tinyurl.com/5yrj2n4y

PDF:  2-UP – https://tinyurl.com/57uf62cp

INTRODUCTION:

“Biological weapons pose a potential threat to military and civilian populations. The most likely mode of delivery of highly infectious or toxic agents is by aerosol. The aerosol particles produced by an attacker are expected to range in size from 0.3 to 15 um diameter. These particles may be delivered by rockets, bomblets with aerosol nozzles, missiles, and aircraft equipped with tanks and spray nozzles; or by aerosol generators on small boats, trucks, or cars or operated from concealed positions on ground sites 1 to 50 km upwind from the target population.

If the aerosol agents enter the respiratory tract of the targeted individuals, there is a high probability that they will cause an unusually severe spectrum of disease and a high mortality rate.  To prevent casualties from these weapons, it is essential to deny access of the aerosol particles to the airway and conjunctivae of the intended victims. If access to these sites is not blocked, then the existence of target host immunity to the biological warfare (BW) agent or the use of chemoprophylaxis for specific agents may prevent illness or reduce its severity.”