Socioeconomic biological weapons.

Abstract

The addition of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus to the list of potential biological weapons agents in the draft of the Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (1) highlights changing perceptions of what is a biological weapon. Human pathogens such as Bacillus anthracis or Clostridium botulinum have long been the focus in biological weapons defense programs because of their imminent threats to our health. However, 2 years ago Iraq provided an example that comprehensive offensive biological weapons programs also consist of socioeconomic biological weapons like wheat cover smut and camel pox virus (2). This violation of the international ban on biological and toxin weapons by Iraq was brought to the attention of the international community by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) through its inspection and verification activities. UNSCOM was established after the Gulf War in 1991 and entrusted by the United Nations Security Council to take possession and supervise the destruction of all weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The mandate of UNSCOM was terminated in 1999.