Biological weapons and biotechnology

[Science News, 1/8/2002; By Arief B. Witarto] [Download PDF 50 KB] It was still warm in our ears, the case of bioterrorism in the United States as a continuation of the attacks' terror 11 November "to the two twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. It is a bioterrorism mode by sending a letter filled with bacterial spores of Bacillus anthracis. Cases in the United States had been eating some of the victims died. Followed by a similar threat in Europe and Japan, although to be "merely" idle action, bioterrorism in this mode can elicit fear in a letter that has become the most common medium of communication in society. This paper is intended to provide information about biological weapons (biological weapons / bioweapon) and the prohibition of business use. Biological weapons and biotechnology
Biological weapons are often referred to as "poor man's nuclear weapon" (Gould, 1997). Cost and technology needed to make biological weapons are much lower and easier than nuclear or chemical weapons. However, the effect of mass destruction was no less powerful than the two weapons had been. According to the calculations of the Office of Technology Assessment in the U.S. Congress in 1993, 100 kg of Bacillus anthracis spores were spread on the capital of Washington could lead to casualties 3 million people. In fact, a similar spread of bacteria from biological weapons installations in the city of Yekaterinburg Russia on 2-3 April 1979 have claimed the victims were killed "tens of thousands of lives' in the surrounding area reported the Union for Chemical Safety, although the official government reports only 66 people (Graeves , 1999). In contrast to nuclear weapons, biological weapons have many types. Although chemical weapons also have many types (such as sarin gas, VX gas, cyanide and so on), because of biological weapons use biological agents such as viruses and bacteria, the numbers tend to increase with the emergence of various new fatal infectious diseases such as Ebola virus, Lassa virus and other on. However, the true agents have been used as a biological weapon is a bacterium that has long been known to man, readily available in nature and is not difficult to handle. Bacillus anthracis, the cause of anthrax disease is the primary option and has proven to be used in the incident in America recently and tried to made in Russia and Iraq. In addition, the deadly bacteria, and recorded as a biological weapon agent is Yersinia pestis causes plague, a poison Clostridium botulinium causes botulism, Francisella tularensis (tularaemia), and others. On the other hand, because the pathogen bacteria was long known, the treatment was known to many antibiotics and its prevention can be done with vaccination. What is more frightening is the agent of biological weapons that have been engineered in biotechnology so that antibiotic resistant, more virulent, stable in storage and so on. The easiest is engineered for resistance to antibiotics. Such properties are usually only caused by a simple collection of genes or even a single gene, so easily moved from one type of bacteria to other bacteria. This technology also has become standard in every molecular biology experiment. Bacillus anthracis can be killed with antibiotics penicillin types can easily be made resistant to gene transfer -lactamase enzymes. Biopreparat, making installation of a network of biological weapons in Russia, reportedly had fake plague-causing bacteria with resistance to 16 kinds of antibiotics. Other engineering methods that enable a technology called "directed evolution" (directed evolution). This method was first developed in 1994 by Dr. Willem Stemmer researchers at biotechnology company, Maxygen, based in Redwood City, California. Method based on the exchange of DNA fragments at random, or referred to as DNA shuffling, was first applied to a single gene coding for a protein. But then expanded to a larger level, which is a collection of genes to the genome. Stemmer and current vice president of the company has managed to engineer the bacterium Escherichia coli that has a resistance to antibiotics Cefotaxime, 32 thousand times higher. Current knowledge of the complete genome sequences of pathogens such as bacteria cause tuberculosis, cholera, leprosy etc., will make it easier for engineering bacteria with a power greater suicide, using this method. Although the two stories above the new limited scenarios, but it is no longer a dream. The research team from the CSIRO, Australia led by Dr. Ronald J. Jackson, published in the Journal of Virology in February 2001 issue, gives a clear picture. The research team was to genetically engineered mousepox virus to control the fertility of rats. The virus is not so dangerous, but when both genes are also mensisipkan protein interleukin-4, mousepox became so deadly. Though the goal is to improve the efficiency of viral lower fertility by extending the production of mouse antibodies to the egg cell itself. The result was sensational allegations outside the scientific community because of mousepox virus is a close relative of smallpox virus causes smallpox. Can imagine this technology is likely to apply to the smallpox virus which ranked first in the kebahayaannya level as a biological weapon. Prohibiting biological weapons Agreement on the international level which prohibit the use of biological weapons began in the Geneva Protocol of 1925. However, history shows that the development of biological weapons continues. One of the documented examples are the use of biological weapons by Japanese troops in World War 2 in China. For that, the treaty agreed in 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) which was sponsored by the United Nations. In this agreement, more emphasized again about "banning the development, manufacture and storage of all types of biological weapons". Until now no fewer than 140 countries have signed this agreement, including Indonesia, America, and Russia. However, the main weaknesses of the BTWC is no collective agreement for monitoring and verification, so the agreement is similar to "lion with no teeth". Russia and Iraq proved to develop biological weapons despite signing the agreement. This led to the establishment of an ad hoc group in 1995 to create inspection and verification protocols in the field. In the beginning, America fully supports the Ad Hoc committee work through President Clinton's statement in 1998. However, at the end of the protocol is almost complete, the American attitude of government under President Bush turned to the total with not only rejected the protocol, but also threatened to walk out of the agreement. This attitude is reminiscent of the American step out of the Kyoto treaty on reducing emissions of carbon dioxide gas or agreements intercontinental missiles. The main reasons put forward by the United States in July 2001 and is a favorite of the lack of routine inspections or sudden to all military installations, academic and industry-related weapons, which may cause leaking of trade secrets. In addition, Americans have worried protocol, can be dangerous arms trade and related technology. As reported the journal Nature Biotechnology, until now the U.S. is the lawyer-related technology exports, the largest in the world. In 1994 alone, there are 531 licenses sold to foreign countries. The rejection policy is strongly supported by the U.S. pharmaceutical industry association (PHRMA). On the other hand, America was strengthening in domestic preparedness against biological weapons attacks. Disclosure of secret program Russia and Iraq as well as manufacturing and distribution of the bacteria Bacillus anthracis by deviant sect Aum Shinrikyo in Japan, in 1995, have triggered it. In 1999, the U.S. Congress has allocated 111 million dollars for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to strengthen the system of early detection and treatment of the dangers of biological weapons (Khan, 2000). Associated with it in April 2000, CDC has issued recommendations for the strategic measures against biological weapons attacks by forming a network of laboratories across the country. Not only at the level of civilians, Americans also have prepared themselves to military strength. For example with the anthrax vaccine to all military personnel (Fidler, 1999). In the end, which was originally BTWC validation will be performed at the 5th Review Conference meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on 19 November to 7 December 2001 that then, fail. According to the President of the Conference, Tibor Toth of Hungary, is already 98% the way to the signing of the BTWC through smoothly. Many parties, the American rejection rate is the main cause of this failure. In the end it was decided to setahuan again backed the deal. Conclusion Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries Americans, need to reconsider its rejection of this protocol. Actually, if there is goodwill, there is no difficulty to find the middle ground. For example, the chemical industry has proven to be arranged between the interests of inspection rules trade secrets that treaty banning chemical weapons, Chemical Weapons Convention (1993) to function properly. In the United States own country, the voices against the government refusal enough especially among scientists, for example from Dr. Barbara Rosenberg, chairman of the Federation of American Scientists' Working Group on Biological Weapons. Even the government's adviser for chemical and biological weapons, Professor Matthew Meselson of Harvard University warned that America's unilateral refusal to be captured as an attempt "hiding something" (the journal Nature, July 2001). We all hope that recent events are reminded again to the dangers of biological weapons. [*]