Abstract
The designation of a microbe as a potential biological weapon poses the vexing question of how such a decision is made given the many pathogenic microbes that cause disease. Analysis of the properties of microbes that are currently considered biological weapons against humans revealed no obvious relationship to virulence, except that all are pathogenic for humans. Notably, the weapon potential of a microbe rather than its pathogenic properties or virulence appeared to be the major consideration when categorizing certain agents as biological weapons. In an effort to standardize the assessment of the risk that is posed by microbes as biological warfare agents using the basic principles of microbial communicability (defined here as a parameter of transmission) and virulence, a simple formula is proposed for estimating the weapon potential of a microbe.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 259-263 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Trends in Microbiology |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2004 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Infectious Diseases
- Microbiology
Cite this
The weapon potential of a microbe. / Casadevall, Arturo; Pirofski, Liise-anne.
In: Trends in Microbiology, Vol. 12, No. 6, 06.2004, p. 259-263.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The weapon potential of a microbe
AU - Casadevall, Arturo
AU - Pirofski, Liise-anne
PY - 2004/6
Y1 - 2004/6
N2 - The designation of a microbe as a potential biological weapon poses the vexing question of how such a decision is made given the many pathogenic microbes that cause disease. Analysis of the properties of microbes that are currently considered biological weapons against humans revealed no obvious relationship to virulence, except that all are pathogenic for humans. Notably, the weapon potential of a microbe rather than its pathogenic properties or virulence appeared to be the major consideration when categorizing certain agents as biological weapons. In an effort to standardize the assessment of the risk that is posed by microbes as biological warfare agents using the basic principles of microbial communicability (defined here as a parameter of transmission) and virulence, a simple formula is proposed for estimating the weapon potential of a microbe.
AB - The designation of a microbe as a potential biological weapon poses the vexing question of how such a decision is made given the many pathogenic microbes that cause disease. Analysis of the properties of microbes that are currently considered biological weapons against humans revealed no obvious relationship to virulence, except that all are pathogenic for humans. Notably, the weapon potential of a microbe rather than its pathogenic properties or virulence appeared to be the major consideration when categorizing certain agents as biological weapons. In an effort to standardize the assessment of the risk that is posed by microbes as biological warfare agents using the basic principles of microbial communicability (defined here as a parameter of transmission) and virulence, a simple formula is proposed for estimating the weapon potential of a microbe.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tim.2004.04.007
DO - 10.1016/j.tim.2004.04.007
M3 - Article
VL - 12
SP - 259
EP - 263
JO - Trends in Microbiology
JF - Trends in Microbiology
SN - 0966-842X
IS - 6
ER -