Problems of Antibacteriological Defense According to Data From Foreign Literature

Problems of Antibacteriological Defense According to Data From Foreign Literature

This book written by a Soviet author provides a generalization of the information that has been published worldwide about the problem of the bacteriological weapon and the existing defense measures against it, in order to inform medical workers and officials.

1961

The long history of research in biological weapons and attempts at use shows that capable powers have these weapons in their arsenals and the threat of their use exists. Characteristics of these weapons that make them so dangerous are their infectivity at negligible amounts, their ability to cause epidemics, the difficulty in detection, and the incubation period. The most likely methods of use are an aerosolized attack, using vectors, or contaminating a food or water supply. The most likely agents are those that cause plague, anthrax, glanders, melioidosis, brucellosis, tularemia, botulism, grippe, psittacosis, smallpox, equine encephalomyelitis, and dengue. Defense rests on civil defense agencies and consists of detection, individual defense of the population, collective defense of the population, and decontamination. Individual protection consists of specific measures such as vaccines and therapeutics and nonspecific measures such as gas masks, protective clothing, disinfectants, and shelters.