Chemical-terrorism Books

Anthrax had reverted to the background of public concerns until 2001, when it surfaced in postal mailboxes as a terrorist weapon; but it's always been here, both in soil and livestock, before it became an industrialized disease. Richard Swiderski's methodical study of this killer disease, Anthrax: A History, reveals the development of the disease, from the 18th century discoveries made about the bacteria until modern times. An intriguing and timely history.

Biological weapons and their potentials has received public attention relatively recently in this country, and for a basic primer on the topic, don't miss Jeanne Guillemin's Biological Weapons, designed to help readers understand the relevance of these weapons and their use. Chapters examine policies of use, deterrence, and proliferation, considering conflicts between media rights and secrecy in development, public awareness issues and rights, and preventative measures against attack.

As a colleague of Dr. Melnick, I am delighted to be able to provide the most positive review. This book serves well both as a primer for PCPs on the general subject of biological, chemical, and radilogical terrorism and as a quick reference. Beyond its target audience, other medical and public health professionals, including EMS professionals, will find this volume very useful.

The book is well organized with concise sections where appropriate for each disease or agent on microbiology and epidemiology, presentation and treatment, post-exposure prohylaxis, and prevention. The illustrations are useful aids in differential diagnosis, and diagnostic, lab evaluation, and treatment information is given in clear tables.

The ease with which RDDs (dirty bombs) can be constructed and the recent federal full-scale exercise scenario makes the chapter on radiological terrorism timely.

The chapters on mental health issues related to terrorism and the key link between public health response and the PCP are welcome and emphasize matters often ignored.

This volume is a worthy contribution to the preparation of PCPs and others to deal with terrorism threats. Dr. Melnick's style is easy to read and conversational, making this book on a very dark subject a pleasure to read.

In June of 1763, British troops, weary of the war with the Ottawa Indians, decided to meet with them on June 24 and give them a gift: blankets and a handkerchief taken from their hospital, which at the time housed patients stricken with smallpox. There was an outbreak of smallpox among the Indians around this time, but the author of this book reminds the reader, it is not clear whether it was because of the gift of blankets. Caution must govern the analysis of history he says, and this is especially true when detailing the historical record of bioterrorism. Hysteria and political hype surround the subject of biological warfare and bioterrorism, and so books that address the subject intelligently are sorely needed. In spite of its short length, this book is one of these. It's only minus might be the omission of the technical details behind bioweapons, but it makes up for this lack by its sound articulation of the issues.

So which groups or nations have engaged in bioterrorism in say the last hundred years? The author gives a fairly long list. Some examples are:

-Germany in World War I used, via its spies, biological agents (anthrax and glanders) to infect horses in the United States that were due to be shipped to the Allied governments. Germany conducted similar operations in Romania, Norway, and Argentina.

-Japan engaged in biowarfare from 1931 to 1945, mostly against China, using agents such as anthrax, glanders, typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and plague. The leader of the Japanese bioweapons projects was Ishii Shiro, who according to the author was pardoned by the United States government in exchange for his laboratory notebooks.

All of the major Allied powers aggressively conducted bioweapons research during and after World War II, and some of this research is discussed in the book. The United States government in particular was able to develop crystalline forms of bacterial toxin and had concentrated efforts to understand and control certain plant diseases. These research programs were finally shut by President Richard Nixon in 1969. Interestingly, and surprisingly, the author reports that some Seventh-Day Adventists were willing to submit themselves as test subjects during some of this research.

Readers will naturally be curious as to whether Iraq did indeed have a biological weapons program. The author reports that it did, beginning in 1985 with its war with Iran, and concentrating its efforts on anthrax and botulinum toxin. He concludes that Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, entered the war in 1991 with usable biological weapons.

But it was the Soviet Union that had the largest and most deadly bioweapons program of all the countries actively involved in this type of research. The author gives a detailed overview of this huge research effort, some of it apparently using techniques from genetic engineering, such as combining two different viruses into a chimera virus. The creation of chimera viruses is a very common technique in viral genetic engineering, and certainly will be, and should be, continued in the future. The Soviet effort is alarming, but its accomplishments in genetic engineering need to be repeated in order to find out just what is possible in the creation of bioweapons.

The author also addresses what the future holds for bioweapons development, various hypothetical attack scenarios, and what can be done to counter them. Several experts in biotechnology have remarked on the relative ease with which future weapons can be developed. But if this is true, effective countermeasures can just as easily be developed. For every genetically engineered deadly virus created in a laboratory there can be one created to counter it. The scenario of garage-created bioweapons is thus real but so also are garage-created antidotes. Genetic engineering in the next decades will become just as easy as ordinary cooking. This is a fact that can cause anxiety as much as elation, the latter arising if cognizance is taken of the enormous benefits of genetic engineering. Genetic engineers in this regard should go full-steam ahead and not hold back, not for a second.

Produced by the medical division of McGraw Hill this is a book directed to the medical industry. It is written by two physicians and approaches bioterrorism from the standpoint of the doctor that will be treating the victum of an attack.

The physician is first responsible for recognizing a medical situation that is dramatically different from the patients he normally sees. Then he has to think about the chances of this coming from bioterrorism, and to subsequently notify the appropriate authorities. And of course while this is going on, he is responsible for treating the affected individuals.

The book discusses the Big-5 diseases generally believed to be the most likely to be used as weapons: Smallpox, Anthrax, Plague, Tularemia, and Smallpox. Then it covers biotoxins, chemical weapons, finally it covers radiological weapons.

The emphasis in this book is treatment. It does not spend much time on things like evaluating the increased likelyhood of some types of attacks when compared with others.

the only thing i thought was missing from this book was improvised treatments.then i thought...THERE ARE NONE!!only antibiotics,prevention,proper response and knowledge. each agent has its own section,some history on it,the signs and symptoms of exposure,the effects (long and short term).the antibiotics and dosages for differnt kinds of people(adults,kids,etc.).how the drugs and dosages are administered for the different exposures(inhaled,skin contact,etc.)and how long for the treatments.how to care and handle the infected people.tells you...what your response should be if you hear of or are warned of attacks,what to do if you think you have been exposed.talks about the vaccines (pros, cons, where to get it and the procedures you will probably see the goverment agencies ,states and hospitals use to administer them).tells about decontamination procedures .in the back it has - contact info(phone numbers,email,etc.)of national centers,regional,and state.charts for easy info for effects treatment ,signs of exposure,etc.places where to get equipment.i was a emt for 4 years and took the haz-mat operations course.i'm far from being a expert,but i know enough to say this book is great for the average person(easy to understand),and worth having for fire ,medical,police and even doctors.the book does not cover chemical weapons.this is not a quick flip refrence book,(even though it does have some quick reference charts in it).its a sit and read book for people at home.you'll be running to get it from your bookshelf if the poop hits the fan!emergency personnel will find very good info for themselves too.WARNING!!!this book is spooky to read...it will educate you on how much of a nightmare these weapons are.and how fragile we humans are.god help us.

A good resource to understand the other side. A must read for the inquisitive mind on the subject of terrorism.

This book is simply one of the finest, thorough, and comprehensive collections to date for Hospital Preparedness for Bio-terrorism. A multitude of issues are discussed related to bio terrorism and how hospitals and disaster relief agencies SHOULD prepare.

I am extremely glad that this information is available in one book to get agencies and hospitals started along the thought process, however, I shudder to think that anyone with influence in this area has NOT read this book.

If you are in any way involved in Hospital preparation for Bio Terror be you an administrator or otherwise, buy this book, read it and get it into other's hands!

As a graduate public health and microbiology student in Washington, DC, I encountered this book and several others proclaiming themselves guides to chem and biowarfare response - most failed at providing clear and valid recommendations. This work, however makes sound recommendations and gives professionals and students alike the knowledge necessary to make quick decision in the event of a bioterrorist attack. The information in this work is laid out in a succinct fashion for each agent, and does not burden the reader with anything other than vital, relevant information. Having extensively researched Ebola virus and smallpox during my bioterrorism class and then checking the PDR's recommendations, I realized that this work is up to speed with modern research and translates the findings into practical, reasoned explanations and recommendations for identification, treatment, and containment in the field and beyond. An absolute must-have for the prepared citizen, firemen, EMT, public health student or professional, and health professionals alike.

This is the kind of book that no-one will get until they need it, and then it will be sold out. This book answers alot of questions about WMD's, and what to do in an emergency, and tells you where to get more info. It's not a big book, but it's clear and doesn't talk down to the reader. Other books like this have filler like recipes and pictures (I know what a bottle looks like, thank you)that make them thicker but they don't have as much info. Get this book! you'll need it someday.