Biological Agents Made From Plants & Animals

A biological agent is a virus, fungus or bacterium that can adversely affect human health and can be used for bioterrorism or biological warfare. The effects of biological agents can range from a mild allergic reaction to death, and they have been used by humanity for thousands of years. Today, biological agents have become a more pressing concern because of the ability to create them in a controlled laboratory setting, and weaponizing them makes them easier to use in a controlled way.

Early History

• The first recorded instance of using a biological agent in warfare comes from the Hittites, around the 15th century B.C. Plague victims were driven in front of an invading army. Homer referenced biological warfare when he discussed the lacing of spears and arrows with poison, and the Athenians were known to have used hellebore, a toxic plant, to poison water supplies during the First Sacred War in Greece.

Development of Biological Weapons

• It took almost 3,000 years, but the first reported biological missile was launched in 1346 by the Tartars. While besieging the city of Kafka, the Tartars loaded catapults with dead plague victims and launched them over the city walls. A couple of hundred years later, blankets infected with smallpox were intentionally distributed to American Indian populations in order to eradicate large numbers of them.

Modern Biological Warfare

• Biological agents remain an ever-present danger today, but many of the biological agents used today are no longer naturally produced. Biological agents such as smallpox have been eradicated from the natural world by vaccination, and the only existing strains of the agent are found in laboratories. Agents such as anthrax, which had been traditionally nurtured in cattle, can now be produced in a laboratory.

Types of Biological Agents

• Many people think of biological agents as being extremely lethal. However, biological agents can come in many forms. Viral pathogens such as foot and mouth disease, H1N1 and avian flu are all potential biological agents that are nurtured and carried by animals. Botulism, cholera and tetanus are all typically considered to be diseases found in the natural world, but can be extracted from the plants and animals that carry them to create biological agents usable for warfare.

Back to the Past: Modern Uses of Traditional Biological Agents

• While the industrialization and weaponization of biological agents has taken most of the work away from nature and placed it in the laboratory, traditional forms of biological agents are still being developed and used today. Cayenne pepper spray is widely used by police and military forces to disable enemies, and in 2010, India began using the bhut jolokia, the world's hottest pepper, to create smoke grenades.