Biological warfare
Weapons of
mass destruction
By type
Biological
Chemical
Nuclear
Radiological
By country
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
PR China
France
Germany
India
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Netherlands
North Korea
Pakistan
Poland
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Sweden
Syria
Taiwan (ROC)
United Kingdom
United States
List of treaties
Biological warfare (BW), also known as
germ warfare,
is the use of pathogens
(bacteria, viruses, or other disease-causing
agents)
as
biological
weapons
(or
bioweapons).
Using
nonliving
toxic
products, even if produced by living organ-
isms (e.g. toxins),
is considered chemical
warfare under the provisions of the Chemical
Weapons Convention. A biological weapon
may be intended to kill, incapacitate, or seri-
ously impede an individual as well as entire
cities or places. It may also be defined as the
material or defense against such employ-
ment. BW is a military technique that can be
used by nation-states or non-national groups.
In the latter case, or if a nation-state uses it
clandestinely,
it may also be considered
bioterrorism.
Overview
The creation and stockpiling of biological
weapons ("offensive biological warfare") was
outlawed by the 1972 Biological Weapons
Convention (BWC), signed by over 100 coun-
tries. The BWC remains in force, and it pro-
hibits storage, stockpiling, and usage of
these weapons.
The rationale behind the agreement is to
avoid the devastating impact of a successful
biological attack which could conceivably
result in millions, possibly even billions of
deaths and cause severe disruptions to soci-
eties and economies. However, the consensus
among military analysts is that, except in the
context of bioterrorism, BW is of little milit-
ary use.
Many countries pursue "defensive BW" re-
search (defensive or protective applications)
which are not prohibited by the BWC. As a
tactical weapon, the main military problem
with a BW attack is that it would take days to
be effective, and therefore, unlike a nuclear
or chemical attack, wo