VX
VX was originally developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1950s, and was given to the United States for military development.
VX is a nerve agent. A nerve agent is a compound that is designed to kill people by binding up a compound known as acetylcholinesterase (the body's off switch), this compound is essential for removing acetylcholine, the body's voluntary muscles and gland "on switch". With reduced or no acetylocholinesterase, the glands and voluntary muscles continue to be stimulated by the acetylcholine; eventually the muscles tire and can no longer sustain breathing functions.
VX is considered to be at least 100 times more toxic by entry through the skin, than Sarin and twice as toxic by inhalation.
VX is lethal. It can enter the body by inhalation, ingestion, through the eyes, and through the skin.
VX is extremely persistent, when dispersed heavily, it can persist for long periods under average weather conditions. In very cold conditions, VX can persist for months. It evaporates at least 1,500 times slower than water.
Symptoms may appear in varying order based on route of exposure, but commonly noted symptoms include:
Runny nose
Watery eyes
Drooling and excessive sweating
Tightness of the chest
Difficulty in breathing
Dimness of vision ( pupils may become pinpointed)
Nausea
Vomiting, cramps, and loss of bladder/bowel control
Twitching, jerking and staggering
Headache, confusion, drowsiness, coma and convulsions
Remove contaminated clothing and wash skin with large amounts of soap and water or 5% liquid household bleach. Rinse well with water. VX absorbs slowly through the skin, but is extremely toxic by this route of entry.
If you believe you have gotten VX in your eyes, immediately flush your eyes with water for 10-15 minutes. VX absorbs rapidly into the eyes, reportedly at least 100 times faster than Sarin.
If you believe that you have eaten or drank something with VX on it or in it, do not induce vomiting
CDC fact sheet on VX
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control
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SARIN
Sarin was orginally developed in Germany in 1938, as an insecticide. The German Ministry of Defense required that it be tested for potential military usage.
Sarin is a nerve agent. A nerve agent is a compound that is designed to kill people by binding up a compound known as acetylcholinesterase (the body's off switch), this compound is essential for removing acetylcholine, the body's voluntary muscles and gland "on switch". With reduced or no acetylocholinesterase, the glands and voluntary muscles continue to be stimulated by the acetylcholine; eventually the muscles tire and can no longer sustain breathing functions.
Sarin is lethal. It can enter the body by inhalation, ingestion, through the eyes, and to a lesser extent through the skin.
Sarin is generally non-persistent, it evaporates at approximately the same rate as water.
Symptoms may appear in varying order based on route of exposure, but commonly noted symptoms include:
Runny nose
Watery eyes
Drooling and excessive sweating
Tightness of the chest
Difficulty in breathing
Dimness of vision ( pupils may become pinpointed)
Nausea
Vomiting, cramps, and loss of bladder/bowel control
Twitching, jerking and staggering
Headache, confusion, drowsiness, coma and convulsions
Remove contaminated clothing and wash skin with large amounts of soap and water or 5% liquid household bleach. Rinse well with water.
If you believe you have gotten Sarin in your eyes, immediately flush your eyes with water for 10-15 minutes.
If you believe that you have eaten or drank something with Sarin on it or in it, do not induce vomiting
SOMAN
Soman was originally developed in Germany in 1944, as an insecticide.
Soman is a nerve agent. A nerve agent is a compound that is designed to kill people by binding up a compound known as acetylcholinesterase (the body's off switch), this compound is essential for removing acetylcholine, the body's voluntary muscles and gland "on switch". With reduced or no acetylocholinesterase, the glands and voluntary muscles continue to be stimulated by the acetylcholine; eventually the muscles tire and can no longer sustain breathing functions.
Soman is the most poisonous of the "G" agents. Antidotes are not effective a few minutes after the exposure. The agent binds irreversibly to acetylchlolinesterase.
Soman is lethal. It can enter the body by inhalation, ingestion, through the eyes, and to a lesser extent through the skin.
Soman is persistent, when dispersed heavily, it can persist for one to two days under average weather conditions. It is thought to evaporate four times more slowly than water.
Symptoms may appear in varying order based on route of exposure, but commonly noted symptoms include:
Runny nose Watery eyes Drooling and excessive sweating Tightness of the chest Difficulty in breathing Dimness of vision ( pupils may become pinpointed) Nausea Vomiting, cramps, and loss of bladder/bowel control Twitching, jerking and staggering Headache, confusion, drowsiness, coma and convulsions
Remove contaminated clothing and wash skin with large amounts of soap and water or 5% liquid household bleach. Rinse well with water.
If you believe you have gotten Soman in your eyes, immediately flush your eyes with water for 10-15 minutes.
If you believe that you have eaten or drank something with Soman on it or in it, do not induce vomiting
TABUN
Tabun was originally developed in Germany in 1936, as an insecticide.
Tabun is a nerve agent. A nerve agent is a compound that is designed to kill people by binding up a compound known as acetylcholinesterase (the body's off switch), this compound is essential for removing acetylcholine, the body's voluntary muscles and gland "on switch". With reduced or no acetylocholinesterase, the glands and voluntary muscles continue to be stimulated by the acetylcholine; eventually the muscles tire and can no longer sustain breathing functions.
Tabun is lethal. It can enter the body by inhalation, ingestion, through the eyes, and to a lesser extent through the skin.
Tabun is persistent, based on amount dispersed and weather. Heavily splashed liquid persists one to two days under average weather conditions. It evaporates about 20 times more slowly than water. It persists about one day at 20 C and about six days at 5 C. Tabun persists twice as long in sea water.
Symptoms may appear in varying order based on route of exposure, but commonly noted symptoms include:
Runny nose Watery eyes Drooling and excessive sweating Tightness of the chest Difficulty in breathing Dimness of vision ( pupils may become pinpointed) Nausea Vomiting, cramps, and loss of bladder/bowel control Twitching, jerking and staggering Headache, confusion, drowsiness, coma and convulsions
Remove contaminated clothing and wash skin with large amounts of soap and water or 5% liquid household bleach. Rinse well with water.
If you believe you have gotten Tabun in your eyes, immediately flush your eyes with water for 10-15 minutes.
If you believe that you have eaten or drank something with Tabun on it or in it, do not induce vomiting
CDC fact sheet on nerve agents (including Tabun, Sarin, Soman)
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control ______________________________________________________________________
MUSTARD GAS
Pure liquid is colorless and odorless . Agent grade material is yellow to dark brown or black and the odor is variously described as similar to burning garlic, horseradish, a characteristic sweetish odor, or a weak, sweet, agreeable odor.
EXPOSURE
Severe delayed irritant. Contact with vapor or liquid can be fatal.
INHALATION
delayed severe irritation sneezing, coughing, and bronchitis loss of appetite diarrhea fever apathy
SKIN
Rapid penetration without irritation. Swelling (blisters) and reddening (erythema) in 4-24 hours depending on dose.
EYES
tearing (lacrimation) light sensitivity irritation of conjunctiva and cornea severe necrosis loss of eyesight
ROUTES OF EXPOSURE: The substance can be absorbed into the body by all routes. Tender skin, mucous membrane and perspiration-covered skin is more sensitive to the effects.
INHALATION RISK: MUSTARD, a chlorinated sulfur compound, is a blister agent (vesicant) causing delayed severe damage to the respiratory tract, and an alkylating agent producing cytotoxic action on the hematopoietic (blood-forming) tissues.
EFFECTS OF SHORT-TERM EXPOSURE: MUSTARD is corrosive to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. The skin healing process is very slow. Exposure to nearly lethal doses can produce injury to bone marrow, lymph nodes, and spleen causing a drop in white blood cell count and resulting in increased susceptibility to local and systemic infections.
EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM OR REPEATED EXPOSURE: The rate of detoxification is very slow in the body and repeated exposures produce a cumulative effects including sensitization, chronic lung impairment (cough, shortness of breath, chest pain), cancer of the mouth, throat, respiratory tract and skin, and leukemia. It may also cause birth defects. A human carcinogen.
ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
Bulk MUSTARD can persist for decades in soil or water. When exposed to sea water, mustard forms a thick outer "crust" over a core of mustard which allows the mustard to be brought to the surface where it can injure unsuspecting fishermen who snared plastic lumps of mustard gas in their nets.
CDC fact sheet on mustard gas
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control
ANTHRAX
AN ANTHRAX ATTACK
The inhaled form of anthrax that killed a Florida man Friday is rare and extremely deadly.
Studies of previous cases indicate that a dose of 2,500 to 55,000 anthrax spores is lethal to about half of the people who inhale them. Anthrax spores are dormant forms of the bacteria. Like seeds, they only germinate in a fertile environment.
If inhaled, larger spores lodge in the upper respiratory tract, where they are less dangerous.
But spores between 1 and 5 microns (one micron is a thousand times smaller than a millimeter) penetrate the alveoli, the tiny sacks in the lung and then migrate to the lymph nodes. At this point, they change to the bacterial form, and within one to 60 days multiply and produce toxins infecting chest tissues.
As they infect tissues in the chest, bacteria also produce toxins that enter the bloodstream. In the lungs, the toxins can cause hemorrhaging, fluid collection and tissue decay (medical term: hemorrhagic necrotizing mediastinitis).
DIAGNOSIS The disease is diagnosed by isolating the bacteria from blood, other body fluids or skin lesions, taking blood cultures and measuring specific antibodies late in the course of the disease.
THE DECLINE The first stage, lasting from hours to a few days, involves flu like symptoms, including fever, coughing, weakness and chest pains. The second stage usually ends in death within days. Lung damage deprives the body of oxygen. The victim then goes into shock. Brain infection may also occur.
TREATMENT Treatment is usually not effective after symptoms are present. Antibiotics only prove helpful at the earliest stages of the disease because they fight bacteria, not the toxins the bacteria produce in abundance. High doses of antibiotics after symptoms appear can lower the death rate from 99% to about 80%.
SOURCES: Monica Schoch-Spana, Johns Hopkins University; Jeff Bender, University of Minnesota, AP, Miami Herald, DallasNews.com research, Department of Defense.
Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax most commonly occurs in hoofed mammals and can also infect humans.
Symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but usually occur within 7 days after exposure. The serious forms of human anthrax are inhalation anthrax, cutaneous anthrax, and intestinal anthrax.
Initial symptoms of inhalation anthrax infection may resemble a common cold. After several days, the symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. Inhalation anthrax is often fatal.
The intestinal disease form of anthrax may follow the consumption of contaminated food and is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea.
Direct person-to-person spread of anthrax is extremely unlikely,if it occurs at all. Therefore, there is no need to immunize or treat contacts of persons ill with anthrax, such as household contacts, friends, or co-workers, unless they also were exposed to the same source of infection.
In persons exposed to anthrax, infection can be prevented with antibiotic treatment.
Early antibiotic treatment of anthrax is essential-delay lessens chances for survival. Anthrax usually is susceptible to penicillin, doxycycline, and fluoroquinolones.
An anthrax vaccine also can prevent infection. Vaccination against anthrax is not recommended for the general public to prevent disease and is not available.
CDC Fact Sheet: Anthrax
and, courtesy of the U.S. government, a hip and happening take in Flash:
Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (Department Of Defense)
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control ______________________________________________________________________
BOTULISM
Botulism is a muscle-paralyzing disease caused by a toxin made by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinium.
THERE ARE THREE MAIN TYPES OF BOTULISM:
Foodborne botulism occurs when a person ingests pre-formed toxin that leads to illness within a few hours to days. Foodborne botulism is a public health emergency because the contaminated food may still be available to other persons besides the patient.
Infant botulism occurs in a small number of susceptible infants each year who harbor C. botulinum in their intestinal tract.
Wound botulism occurs when wounds are infected with C. botulinum that secrets the toxin.
With foodborne botulism, symptoms begin within 6 hours to 2 weeks (most commonly between 12 and 36 hours) after eating toxin-containing food. Symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, muscle weakness that always descends through the body: first shoulders are affected, then upper arms, lower arms, thighs, calves, etc. Paralysis of breathing muscles can cause a person to stop breathing and die, unless assistance with breathing (mechanical ventilation) is provided.
Botulism is not spread from one person to another. Foodborne botulism can occur in all age groups.
A supply of antitoxin against botulism is maintained by CDC. The antitoxin is effective in reducing the severity of symptoms if administered early in the course of the disease. Most patients eventually recover after weeks to months of supportive care.
CDC fact sheet on botulism
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control ______________________________________________________________________
PNEUMONIC PLAGUE
Plague is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Y. pestis, is found in rodents and their fleas in many areas around the world.
Pneumonic plague occurs when Y. pestis infects the lungs. The first signs of illness in pneumonic plague are fever, headache, weakness, and cough productive of bloody or watery sputum. The pneumonia progresses over 2 to 4 days and may cause septic shock and, without early treatment, death.
Person-to-person transmission of pneumonic plague occurs through respiratory droplets, which can only infect those who have face-to-face contact with the ill patient.
Early treatment of pneumonic plague is essential. Several antibiotics are effective, including streptomycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol.
There is no vaccine against plague.
Prophylactic antibiotic treatment for 7 days will protect persons who have had face-to-face contact with infected patients.
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control ______________________________________________________________________
EBOLA
Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) is a severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976.
After the first case-patient in an outbreak setting (often called the index case) is infected, humans can transmit the virus in several ways. People can be exposed to Ebola virus from direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. This is why the virus has often been spread through the families and friends of infected persons: in the course of feeding, holding, or otherwise caring for them, family members and friends would come into close contact with such secretions. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions.
Within a few days of becoming infected with the virus:
Symptoms that occur in most Ebola patients: high fever, headache, muscle aches, stomach pain, fatigue, diarrhea
Symptoms that occur in some Ebola patients: chest pain, shock, and death
Within one week of becoming infected with the virus:
Symptoms that occur in most Ebola patients: sore throat, hiccups, rash, red and itchy eyes, vomiting blood, bloody diarrhea
Symptoms that occur in some Ebola patients: blindness, bleeding
There is no standard treatment for Ebola HF. Currently, patients receive supportive therapy. This consists of balancing the patientΥs fluids and electrolytes, maintaining their oxygen status and blood pressure, and treating them for any complicating infections.
CHOLERA
Cholera is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes it can be severe. Approximately one in 20 infected persons has severe disease characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. In these persons, rapid loss of body fluids leads to dehydration and shock. Without treatment, death can occur within hours.
Cholera can be simply and successfully treated by immediate replacement of the fluid and salts lost through diarrhea. Patients can be treated with oral rehydration solution, a prepackaged mixture of sugar and salts to be mixed with water and drunk in large amounts. This solution is used throughout the world to treat diarrhea. Severe cases also require intravenous fluid replacement. With prompt rehydration, fewer than 1% of cholera patients die. Antibiotics shorten the course and diminish the severity of the illness, but they are not as important as rehydration.
At the present time, the manufacture and sale of the only licensed cholera vaccine in the United States (Wyeth-Ayerst) has been discontinued. It has not been recommended for travelers because of the brief and incomplete immunity if offers. No cholera vaccination requirements exist for entry or exit in any country.
DIPHTHERIA
Respiratory diphtheria presents as a sore throat with low-grade fever and an adherent membrane of the tonsils, pharynx, or nose. Neck swelling is usually present in severe disease. Cutaneous diphtheria presents as infected skin lesions which lack a characteristic appearance.
Myocarditis, polyneuritis, and airway obstruction are common complications of respiratory diphtheria; death occurs in 5%-10% of respiratory cases. Complications and deaths are much less frequent in cutaneous diphtheria.
Direct person- to-person transmission by intimate respiratory and physical contact. Cutaneous lesions are important in transmission.
CDC fact sheet on viral hemorrhagic fevers (including ebola)
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control