Annual Status Report and Forecast for Biological and Chemical Weapons and Defense

Item Details

Title

Annual Status Report and Forecast for Biological and Chemical Weapons and Defense

Topics

Published report on achievements in BW and CW research and development

Date

1961

Conclusions

Generally, agents with relatively short infectivity and incubation periods (for controllability/efficiency purposes?) were desired. Important that there is no antidote or immunity in the target population, and that non-lethal infections do not produce immunization. Crop destruction is now being considered but animal is not. Currently, the only agents that are a part of the offensive program are brucellosis, tularemia, and Q fever. This is because of their ability to be produced in quantity, their high morbidity, and the ease of disseminating them. Many other candidate agents are under consideration, including insect-borne agents (eg; yellow fever, chikungunya) whose dissemination would include using the arthropod vector. The end of the report details a ton of defensive measures (decon, PPE, etc.)

Files

Source

Office of Atomic, Biological, and Chemical Warfare, Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering. Annual Status Report and Forecast for Biological and Chemical Weapons and Defense. Washington, DC. 1961.
Found in: NARA College Park, RG 330, Entry P757, Box 9.

Citation

“Annual Status Report and Forecast for Biological and Chemical Weapons and Defense,” Collection of Biothreat Risk Assessments (COBRA), accessed January 15, 2025, https://cobrabiosecurity.org/items/show/415.