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Subject: IRAQ BW PROGRAM Not Finally Evaluated Intelligence TO FACILITATE ELECTRONIC ACCESS, THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REFORMATTED TO ELIMINATE INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT PERTAIN TO GULF WAR ILLNESS ISSUES OR THAT IS CLASSIFIED. A COPY OF THIS REDACTED DOCUMENT, IN ORIGINAL FORMAT, IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. IRAQ'S BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM: SADDAM'S ACE IN THE HOLE AN INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT IRAQ'S BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM: SADDAM'S ACE IN THE HOLE KEY JUDGMENTS INFORMTION AVAILABLE AS OF 8 AUGUST 1990 WAS USED IN THIS REPORT. IRAQ'S ADVANCED AND AGGRESSIVE BIOLOGICAL WARFARE (BW) PROGRAM IS THE MOST EXTENSIVE IN THE ARAB WORLD. THE BW PROGRAM IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF IRAQ'S HIGH-PRIORITY DRIVE TO BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT IN THE PRODUCTION OF UNCONVENTIONAL WEAPONS AND BALLISTIC MISSILES. WE BELIEVE THAT IRAQ HAS BEEN PRODUCING LARGE QUANTITIES OF THE AGENTS ANTHRAX AND BOTULINUM TOXIN SINCE 1989. BY THE END OF 1990, THE IRAQIS PROBABLY WILL HAVE DEPLOYED SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OF BIOLOGICALLY FILLED AERIAL BOMBS AND ARTILLERY ROCKETS. IRAQ WILL EVENTUALLY USE BW AGENTS TO FILL WARHEADS FOR ITS INDIGENOUSLY PRODUCED SCUDS. THE IRAQIS VERY LIKELY ARE DEVELOPING ADDITIONAL BW AGENTS-PROBABLY VIRUSES AND ADDITIONAL TOXINS-BUT WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO DETERMINE WHICH ONES. IRAQI OFFICIALS HAVE STATED THAT THE USE OF ANY WEAPON IS JUSTIFIED IN DEFENDING THEIR TERRITORY. IRAQ, THE FIRST NATION TO USE NERVE AGENTS ON THE BATTLEFIELD, PROBABLY WOULD NOT HESITATE TO USE BW AGENTS IN EXTREME SITUATIONS. GIVEN THE POTENTIALLY GREATER THAN THOUSANDFOLD INCREASE IN LETHAL AREA CONTAMINA- TION FOR CERTAIN BW AGENTS AS COMPARED WITH CW AGENTS, IRAQ PRESUMABLY WOULD USE BW AGENTS IN EXTREME STITUATIONS, SUCH AS STRATEGIC RETALIATION FOR NUCLEAR OR CHEMICAL ATTACKS AGAINST IRAQI POPULATION CENTERS. WESTERN COMPANIES HAVE SUPPLIED THE MAJORITY OF DUAL-USE EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING. HOWEVER, THE IRAQI PROGRAM IS NOW SO FAR ADVANCED THAT LITTLE CAN BE DONE TO IMPEDE IT. MUCH OF THE EQUIPMENT INVOLVED IS DUAL-USE BIOMEDICAL EQUIPMENT AT LEAST FOUR FACILITIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE IRAQI BW PROGRAM IRAQ'S BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM: SADDAM'S ACE IN THE HOLE INTRODUCTION IRAQ'S AGGRESSIVE PURSUIT OF UNCONVENTIONAL WEAPONS- CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND NUCLEAR-AND THE MEANS TO DELIVER THEM (SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILES [SSMS)) UN- DERSCORE OFFICIAL IRAQI STATEMENTS THAT JUSTIFY THE USE OF ANY WEAPON TO DEFEND ITS TERRITORY. MOREOVER, IRAQ'S USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN ITS WAR WITH IRAN SHOWS THAT IRAQ IS PREPARED TO BACK RHETORIC WITH ACTION-IRAQ WAS THE FIRST COUNTRY EVER TO USE NERVE AGENTS ON THE BATTLEFIELDS IRAQ'S EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE WITH CHEMICAL WEAP- ONS ALMOST CERTAINLY HAVE REINFORCED ITS DESIRE TO DEVELOP ADDITIONAL UNCONVENTIONAL WEAPONS. WE BE- LIEVE IRAQ VIEWS ITS USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGAINST IRAN AS A DECISIVE FACTOR IN THE OUTCOME OF THE WAR. IN ADDITION, WE BELIEVE THE IRAQIS WERE PLEASED WITH THE MINIMAL INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO ITS USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS. BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM TRACED BACK TO LATE 1970s IRAQ EVIDENTLY BEGAN DEVELOPING ITS OFFENSIVE BW CAPABILITY IN THE LATE 1970s, DESPITE HAVING SIGNED THE 1972 BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS CONVENTION HIGH-CONTAINMENT LABORATORIES THE DESIGNATIONS P-1/BL-1 THROUGH P-4/BL-4 REFER TO (P)ROTECTION OR (B)IOCONTAINMENT (L)EVEL, WITH LEVEL 4 BEING THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF PROTECTION OR CONTAINMENT. BASICALLY, THESE LEVEL DESIGNATIONS REPRESENT THE NUM- BER OF PHYSICAL BARRIERS THAT PREVENT AN ORGANISM FROM ESCAPING TO THE OUTSIDE FROM THE LABORATORY. BY INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT. P-41/BL-4 IS REQUIRED FOR WORK ON DANGEROUS AGENTS THAT POSE A HIGH RISK OF LIFE-THREATENING DISEASE. HIGH-CONTAINMENT LABORATO- RIES (P-4/BL-4) ARE COSTLY AND DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN; THERE ARE ONLY A HANDFUL OF THEM AROUND THE WORLD, WITH THE MAJORITY CONDUCTING LEGITIMATE RESEARCH ON HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS DISEASES IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO HAVE A HIGH-CONTAINMENT FACILITY FOR WORK ON BW AGENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, PRODUCTION OF BOTULINUM TOXIN AND ANTHRAX REQUIRES ONLY P-2/BL-2 LEVELS OF CONTAIN MENT. BW AGENTS UNDER DEVELOPMENT INCLUDE BOTULINUM TOXIN AND ANTHRAX BACTERIA IRAQ HAS DEVELOPED BOTULINUM TOXIN AND ANTHRAX BACTERIA AS BW AGENTS (SEE APPENDIX A). BOTULINUM TOXIN IS NONPERSISTENT, DEGRADING RAPIDLY IN THE ENVIRONMENT. ANTHRAX SPORES ARE VERY STABLE IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND CAN BE CONSIDERED PERSISTENT BW AGENTS. PRODUCTION OF CLOSTRIDIUM VACCINES THE BACTERIUM CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM IS THE CAUS- ATIVE AGENT OF BOTULISM, A TYPE OF FOOD POISONING. THE CLOSTRIDIUM FAMILY OF BACTERIA ALSO PRODUCES TETANUS AND GAS GANGRENE. THE FIRST STEP IN THE PRODUCTION OF CLOSTRIDIUM VAC- CINES. SUCH AS TETANUS, IS TO PRODUCE LARGE QUANTITIES OF THE TETANUS TOXIN. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, LARGE QUAN- TITIES OF CLOSTRIDIUM TETANI ARE GROWN IN FERMENTERS. AS CELLS DIE AND BURST, THE TETANUS TOXIN IS RELEASED INTO THE MATERIAL IN WHICH THEY ARE GROWING. THE NEXT STEP IS TO PUT THE GROWTH MEDIUM-CONTAINING THE TOXIN-INTO ANOTHER CONTAINER TO WHICH FORMALDEHYDE IS ADDED. THE FORMALDEHYDE INACTIVATES THE TOXIN, MAKING IT NONTOXIC BUT STILL CAPABLE OF PRODUCING AN IMMUNE RESPONSE. (A TOXIN THAT IS INACTIVE BUT THAT CAN STILL PRODUCE AN IMMUNE RESPONSE IS CALLED A TOXOID OR AN ANATOXIN.) THE FORMALDEHYDE-TOXIN MIX- TURE IS STIRRED, AND, AT VARIOUS INTERVALS, SAMPLES ARE TAKEN OUT AND INJECTED INTO MICE. WHEN NO TOXIC OBSERVED IN THE MICE, THE TOXIN IS CONSID- INACTIVE AND READY FOR USE IN PRODUCING VACCINE WESTERN ASSISTANCE IN PROVIDING EQUIPMENT AND TRAIN- ING HAS BEEN CRITICAL TO IRAQ'S EFFORTS TO DEVELOP AN OFFENSIVE BW CAPABILITY HAVE SUPPLIED BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT AN HAVE TRAINED IRAQIS IN THE USE OF THAT EQUIPMENT. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THESE FIRMS WERE AWARE OF THE END USE OF THE TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT. CURRENT STATUS OF THE BW PROGRAM IRAQ PROBABLY BEGAN LARGE-SCALE PRODUC- TION OF ANTHRAX AND BOTULINUM TOXIN IN 1989. THAT SOME LIMITED WEAPONIZATION PROBABLY HAS TAKEN PLACE ALREADY. PRODUCTION WE BELIEVE THERE ARE AT LEAST FOUR LOCATIONS IN IRAQ INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION OF BW AGENTS: SALMAN PAK, AT TAJI, ABU GHRAIB, AND AL LATIFIYAH SALMAN PAK-R&D, PRODUCTION AND STORAGE. WITH CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY, PILOT-SCALE FERMENTERS OPERATED ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS COULD PRODUCE ENOUGH TOXINS OR LIVING AGENTS EACH DAY TO LETHALLY CONTAMINATE HUNDREDS OF SQUARE KILOME- TERS. IRAQ WAS BEGINNING TO PRODUCE LARGE QUANTITIES OF BW AGENTS IN 1989. WE JUDGE THAT THERE ARE NO MORE CW-RELATED ACTIVI- TIES ONGOING AT SALMAN PAK AND THAT IT IS NOW ENTIRELY DEVOTED TO BW. THE CW R&D AND PRODUCTION EFFORTS THAT ONCE TOOK PLACE AT SALMAN PAK CURRENTLY TAKE PLACE AT SAMARRA AND HABANNIYAH. ABU GHRAIB-BOTULINUM TOXIN PRODUCTION. ABU GHRAIB, A FEW KILOMETERS WEST OF BAGHDAD, AS THE LOCATION OF A BW AGENT PRODUCTION FACILITY. OPEN LITERATURE INDICATES THAT IRAQI VETERINARY AU- THORITIES SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH AN FIRM IN 1982 TO CONSTRUCT A CLOSTRIDIUM VACCINE PLANT NEAR BAGHDAD IRAQ A CRUDE OPERATIONAL BW CAPABILITY DURING THE WAR. ABU GHRAIB PLANT THAT IT HAS BEEN USED TO PRODUCE BOTULINUM TOXIN FROM CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM. AT TAJI-PILOT PRODUCTION. WE BELIEVE AT TAJI, IN THE NORTHWESTERN SUBURBS OF BAGHDAD, IS A SITE OF PILOT- SCALE BW PRODUCTION. WEAPONIZATION IRAQ HAS AVAILABLE A WIDE RANGE OF WEAPON SYSTEMS THAT IT COULD POTENTIALLY USE TO DELIVER BW AGENTS. THE WEAPONS RANGE FROM SIMPLE AERIAL BOMBS AND ARTILLERY ROCKETS TO SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILES (SSMs). IRAQ MAY BE PLAN- NING TO DEVELOP A BIOLOGICAL WARHEAD FOR ITS SSMs. WE BELIEVE THAT, IF IRAQ DOES PLAN TO PUT BW AGENTS INTO AN SSM, THE MOST LIKELY CHOICE WOULD AGAIN BE ITS INDIGENOUSLY PRODUCED SCUDS, WHICH HAVE CLAIMED RANGES OF 600 AND 900 KM A SYSTEM THAT COULD BE USED IN THE FUTURE FOR BW AGENT DELIVERY IS THE CONDOR II-AN SSM WITH A 750- TO 1,000-KM RANGE AND A PAYLOAD OF ABOUT 500 KG. THE CONDOR HAS A SUBMUNITION WARHEAD. SUCH WARHEADS ARE WELL SUITED FOR DISSEMINATING BW OR CW AGENTS. POTENTIAL IRAQI USAGE PAST IRAQI USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS AND STATEMENTS BY IRAQI OFFICIALS JUSTIFYING THE USE OF ANY WEAPON TO DEFEND THEIR COUNTRY SUGGEST THAT IRAQ WOULD CONSIDER USING BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS UNDER CERTAIN EXTREME CIR- CUMSTANCES. SADDAM HUSAYN TOLD A DELEGA- TION OF US SENATORS IN APRIL 1990 THAT IRAQ WOULD USE CHEMICALS ONLY IN RETALIATION FOR AN UNCONVENTIONAL ATTACK. IRAQ WILL TREAT BW SIMILARLY, IN OUR JUDGMENT, AND PROBABLY WOULD SAVE ITS BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS AS A RETALIATORY OPTION FOR UNCONVENTIONAL ATTACKS ON IRAQ. GIVEN THE POTENTIALLY MORE THAN THOUSANDFOLD INCREASE IN LETHAL AREA CONTAMINATION OF SOME BW AGENTS AS COMPARED WITH CW AGENTS, IRAQ, IN OUR JUDGMENT, PRIMARILY VIEWS BW AS PART OF ITS STRATEGIC ARSENAL, TO BE USED AS A TERROR WEAPON AGAINST MILITARY AND CIVILIAN TARGETS IF IRAQ DECIDES TO USE UNCONVENTIONAL WEAPONS TO ATTACK STRATEGIC TARGETS, IT MAY BE TEMPTED TO USE BIOLOGICAL INSTEAD OF CHEMICAL WARHEADS BECAUSE OF THE GREATER AREA COVERAGE PROVIDED BY BIOLOGICAL WARHEADS. WE BELIEVE, HOWEVER, THAT IRAQ IS MORE LIKELY TO HOLD ITS BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS IN RESERVE AS AN ESCALATORY OPTION TO DETER ADDITIONAL STRIKES FROM ITS OPPONENT OR TO LAUNCH ITS OWN RETALIATION. FOR EXAM- PLE, ANTHRAX SPORES CAN CONTAMINATE SOIL FOR DECADES AND MAY SERVE, IN IRAQ'S VIEW, AS RETALIATION IN KIND FOR THE RADIATION THAT ACCOMPANIES A NUCLEAR ATTACK. WE CANNOT RULE OUT THAT IRAQ MAY HAVE CONTINGENCY PLANS TO USE BIOLOGICAL AGENTS COVERTLY, BOTULINUM TOXIN AND, TO A LESSER DEGREE, ANTHRAX BACTERIA LEND THEM- SELVES TO COVERT DISSEMINATION BECAUSE EVEN SMALL AMOUNTS PLACED IN WATER OR FOOD SUPPLIES ARE SUFFI- CIENTLY TOXIC TO KILL LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE. IRAQ ALSO COULD COVERTLY USE SPRAY TANKS OR AEROSOL GENERATORS PURCHASED FOR ITS CHEMICAL WARFARE PROGRAM TO CREATE LARGE TOXIC CLOUDS OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS UPWIND OF A TARGET AREA. OUTLOOK BY THE END OF 1990, WE BELIEVE THAT IRAQ WILL HAVE DEPLOYED A MILITARILY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF BIOLOGICAL- LY FILLED BOMBS AND ARTILLERY ROCKETS. IN ADDITION, WE BELIEVE THAT IRAQ WILL DEVELOP A BW WARHEAD FOR ITS INDIGENOUSLY PRODUCED SCUD AND MAY HAVE ALREADY DONE SO. WE JUDGE THAT THIS WEAPON COULD BE OPERA- TIONALLY READY WITHIN THE NEXT FEW YEARS. WE ALSO BELIEVE THAT IRAQ HAS BEEN DEVELOPING OTHER BW AGENTS THAT WE HAVE NOT YET IDENTIFIED. LIKELY CANDIDATES INCLUDE VIRUSES AND ADDITIONAL BACTERIA AND TOXINS. WE BELIEVE THAT IRAQ WILL CONTINUE TO PLACE EMPHASIS ON ITS BW PROGRAM. SADDAM, IN HIS QUEST TO BE THE LEADER OF THE ARAB WORLD, PROBABLY BELIEVES THAT HIS BW PROGRAM PLACES HIM IN AN ELITE GROUP OF NATIONS; HE HAS ALREADY STATED THAT HE IS THE THIRD LEADER TO DEVELOP BINARY CHEMICAL WEAPONS. GIVEN THAT SADDAM ALREADY HAS THE DUBIOUS DISTINCTION OF BEING THE FIRST TO USE NERVE AGENTS ON THE BATTLEFIELD AND THAT HE SUCCESSFULLY WEATHERED THE LIMITED INTERNATIONAL RE- SPONSE TO THIS USE, HE PROBABLY HAS LITTLE FEAR OF THE POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF USING BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS. IRAQ'S AGGRESSIVE BW PROGRAM IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF SADDAM'S HIGH-PRIORITY DRIVE TO DEVELOP AND PRODUCE UNCONVENTIONAL WEAPONS AND BALLISTIC MISSILES. AND, AS IS THE CASE FOR ITS NUCLEAR, CHEMICAL, AND MISSILE PROGRAMS, THE ULTIMATE GOAL FOR IRAQ'S BW EFFORT IS TO BECOME INDEPENDENT OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE. IRAQ IS ALREADY WELL ON THE WAY TOWARD THIS GOAL. THE IRAQI BW PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE TO PROGRESS APPENDIX CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTULINUM TOXIN AND ANTHRAX BACTERIA BOTULINUM TOXIN BOTULINUM TOXIN IS PRODUCED BY CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULI- NUM. THIS BATERIUM GROWS ANAEROBICALLY, THAT IS, WITHOUT THE PRESENCE OF OXYGEN. ALTHOUGH THERE EIGHT DIFFERENT TYPES OF THE TOXIN, THE TOXIN MOST STUDIED AND CHARACTERIZED IS BOTULINUM TOXIN A, ONE OF THE MOST TOXIC SUBSTANCES KNOWN. ON THE BASIS OF DATA REGARDING THE TOXICITY AND DISSEMINATION CHARACTERIS- TICS OF THE TOXIN IN DRIED FORM, A MISSILE FILLED WITH BOTULINUM WOULD LETHALLY CONTAMINATE AN AREA AT LEAST 16 TIMES LARGER THAN THE SAME MISSILE WARHEAD FILLED WITH THE NERVE AGENT SARIN. ACCORDING TO EXPERIMENTAL DATA ON LABORATORY ANIMALS AND FROM CASES OF HUMAN EXPOSURE, BOTULINUM TOXIN A IS ABOUT 300,000 TIMES MORE POTENT THAN THE NERVE AGENT VX. (VX, A PERSISTENT NERVE AGENT, IS 10 TIMES MORE POTENT THAN THE NONPERSISTENT NERVE AGENT SARIN.) IN FACT, HUMANS SEEM TO BE MORE SENSITIVE TO BOTULI- NUM TOXIN THAN MOST OTHER SPECIES. EXPOSURE TO BOTULINUM TOXIN USUALLY OCCURS WHEN FOOD CONTAINING THE BACTERIUM IN INGESTED. BY THE TIME BOTULINUM TOXIN SYMPTOMS DEVELOP-ABOUT 12 HOURS AFTER AEROSOL EXPOSURE- TREATMENT HAS LITTLE CHANCE OF SUCCESS. BOTULINUM TOXIN AFFECTS THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. WHEN EXPOSURE TAKES PLACE THROUGH INGESTION, GASTROINTESTI- NAL SYMPTOMS ARE OBSERVED BEFORE THE ONSET OF NEURO- LOGICAL SYMPTOMS. ONCE THESE SYSTEMS BEGIN, THEY INCLUDE WEAKNESS, DIZZINESS, BLURRED OR DOUBLE VISION, FIXED AND DILATED PUPILS, IMPAIRED REACTION TO LIGHT, DROOPING EYELIDS, FACIAL MUSCLE WEAKNESS, AND SPEECH DIFFICULTIES. WHEN EXPOSURE TO BOTULINUM TAKES PLACE THROUGH THE RESPIRATORY ROUTE, GASTROINTESTINAL SYMP- TOMS ARE ABSENT. BOTULINUM TOXIN WILL MOST LIKELY BE USED AS AN AEROSOL FOR BW PURPOSES. ALTHOUGH THE TOXIN IS FAIRLY STABLE FOR A YEAR WHEN STORED AT TEMPERATURES BELOW 27C, EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT IT DECAYS FAIRLY RAPIDLY-GENERALLY WITHIN AN HOUR-IN BRIGHT SUN- LIGHT. THERE ARE ANTISERA TO BOTULINUM TOXINS, BUT THEY ARE EFFECTIVE ONLY IF ADMINISTERED BEFORE THE ONSET OF SYMPTOMS. CONVERSELY, IMMUNIZATION TO BOTULINUM IS POSSIBLE BUT REQUIRES MULTIPLE INJECTIONS OF INACTIVATED TOXINS OVER A PERIOD OF SEVERAL MONTHS. THUS; A COUNTRY THAT HAD DEVELOPED BOTULINUM TOXIN AS A BW AGENT COULD PROTECT ITS TROOPS FROM EXPOSURE TO THE TOXIN. ANTHRAX ANTHRAX IS PRODUCED BY THE BACTERIUM BACILLUS ANTH- RACIS. UNLIKE BOTULINUM TOXIN, ANTHRAX SYMPTOMS RESULT WHEN THE BACTERIA MULTIPLY IN THE BODY, PRODUC- ING TOXINS. ALTHOUGH EACH BACTERIUM PRODUCES AND RELEASES ONLY A SMALL QUANTITY OF ANTHRAX TOXIN AS IT GROWS, AS THE BACTERIA MULTIPLY, MORE TOXIN IS PRO- DUCED. ANTHRAX IS A LIVING BW AGENT, AND IT MUST REPRODUCE IN THE BODY TO CAUSE AN EFFECT. THERE ARE THREE FORMS OF ANTHRAX, CHARACTERIZED BY THE MODE OF ENTRY INTO THE BODY: THROUGH CUTS IN THE SKIN (CUTANEOUS), THROUGH INGESTION (GASTROINTESTINAL), OR THROUGH INHALATION (PULMONARY). ANTHRAX IS A NATU- RALLY OCCURRING DISEASE OF LIVESTOCK, AND HUMANS MOST FREQUENTLY CONTRACT THE CUTANEOUS FORM OF THE DISEASE WHEN THEY COME INTO CONTACT WITH INFECTED ANIMALS. THE GASTROINTESTINAL FORM OF THE DISEASE RESULTS FROM INGESTING CONTAMINATED MEAT. OF THESE THREE FORMS, PULMONARY ANTHRAX IS FATAL NEARLY 100 PERCENT OF THE TIME. GASTROINTESTINAL ANTHRAX IS FATAL ABOUT 75 PER- CENT OF THE TIME, AND CUTANEOUS ANTHRAX IS FATAL LESS THEN 10 PERCENT OF THE TIME AND ONLY IF UNTREATED. ALL FORMS OF THE DISEASE RESPOND WELL TO PENICILLIN IF THE DRUG IS GIVEN SHORTLY AFTER THE ONSET OF SYMPTOMS. THE DISEASE IS FAIRLY RARE, HOWEVER, AND OFTEN THE DIAGNOSIS OF EITHER GASTROINTESTINAL OR PULMONARY ANTHRAX IS MADE ONLY AFTER DEATH. ANTHRAX WOULD MOST LIKELY BE USED AS AN AEROSOL SUSPENSION OF SPORES FOR BW PURPOSES. AFTER ANTHRAX SPORES ARE INHALED, THERE IS AN INCUBATION PERIOD OF ONE TO FIVE DAYS BEFORE NONSPECIFIC SYMPTOMS-SUCH AS FATIGUE AND MILD FEVER-APPEAR; AT THIS POINT THE ILLNESS IS FREQUENTLY DIAGNOSED AS A RESPIRATORY INFEC- TION. THESE INITIAL SYMPTOMS USUALLY IMPROVE TWO TO FOUR DAYS LATER, FOLLOWED BY THE SUDDEN DEVELOPMENT OF RESPIRATORY DISTRESS. PULSE, TEMPERATURE, AND RESPI- RATORY RATE BECOME ELEVATED, AND THE VICTIM BECOMES CYANOTIC-BLUE-BLACK COLORED. DEATH USUALLY OCCURS WITHIN 24 HOURS AFTER THE ONSET OF THE SECOND PHASE. ANTHRAX SPORES ARE VERY HEARTY IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND IN STORAGE; IT IS THIS SPECIALIZED FORM OF THE BACTERIUM THAT INFECTS HUMANS. GROWING BACTERIA, WHEN EXPOSED TO ADVERSE CONDITIONS-SUCH AS EXTREME HEAT OR COLD-PRODUCE SPORES. THE SPORES, WHICH CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS SEEDS, REMAIN IN AN INERT STATE UNTIL THEY ENTER THE BODY AND ENCOUNTER CONDITIONS SUITABLE FOR THEM TO BEGIN MULTIPLYING. IN ADDITION, BECAUSE THE ONSET OF SYMPTOMS OF PULMONARY ANTHRAX ARE SO NONSPECIFIC, DIAGNOSIS IN TIME FOR SUCCESSFUL PENICILLIN TREATMENT WOULD BE HIGHLY UNLIKELY. CONVERSELY EFFECTIVE VAC- CINES TO ANTHRAX DO EXIST SO THAT A COUNTRY THAT HAD DEVELOPED ANTHRAX AS A BW AGENT COULD PROTECT ITS TROOPS 1.5 (C)
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