Biological agentBiological agents, also known as biological weapons or bioweapons, are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kinds of potentially weaponizable bio-agents have been described and studied to date, and experts expect that in the future it will be possible to design novel biological weapons.
Marburg virusMarburg virus (MARV) is a hemorrhagic fever virus of the Filoviridae family of viruses and a member of the species Marburg marburgvirus, genus Marburgvirus. It causes Marburg virus disease in primates, a form of viral hemorrhagic fever. The World Health Organization (WHO) rates it as a Risk Group 4 Pathogen (requiring biosafety level 4-equivalent containment).
Monkeypox virusThe monkeypox virus (MPV, MPXV, or hMPXV) is a species of double-stranded DNA viruses that causes mpox disease in humans and other mammals. It is a zoonotic virus belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus, making it closely related to the variola, cowpox, and vaccinia viruses. MPV is oval, with a lipoprotein outer membrane. Its genome is approximately 190 kb.
United States Department of Health and Human ServicesThe United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to set guidelines for the private healthcare system and provide essential human services in areas such as funding medical studies. Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).
United States Department of AgricultureDepartment of the US governmentThe United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production, works to assure food safety, protects natural resources, fosters rural communities and works to end hunger in the United States and internationally.
Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic feverCrimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral disease. Symptoms of CCHF may include fever, muscle pains, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding into the skin. Onset of symptoms is less than two weeks following exposure. Complications may include liver failure. Survivors generally recover around two weeks after onset. CCHF is a tick-borne disease. The causative agent of CCHF is the CCHF virus, which belongs to the genus Orthonairovirus.
ToxinA toxin is a naturally occurring poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), derived from toxic. Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes or cellular receptors.
Lassa virusLassa virus (LASV) is an arenavirus that causes Lassa hemorrhagic fever, a type of viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), in humans and other primates. Lassa virus is an emerging virus and a select agent, requiring Biosafety Level 4-equivalent containment. It is endemic in West African countries, especially Sierra Leone, the Republic of Guinea, Nigeria, and Liberia, where the annual incidence of infection is between 300,000 and 500,000 cases, resulting in 5,000 deaths per year.
Eastern equine encephalitisEastern equine encephalitis (EEE), also called triple E and sleeping sickness, is a viral disease caused mainly by the Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV). Most infections in humans are asymptomatic, but about 5% of the time the infection progresses to severe neuroinvasive disease. Symptoms typically appear 3–10 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito and initially include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, muscle pain, and joint pain.
Zaire ebolavirusOrthoebolavirus zairense or Zaire ebolavirus, more commonly known as Ebola virus (; EBOV), is one of six known species within the genus Ebolavirus. Four of the six known ebolaviruses, including EBOV, cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other mammals, known as Ebola virus disease (EVD).
Law of the United StatesConstitution of the United StatesThe United States Congress, the federal bicameral legislature, enacts federal statutes in accordance with the Constitution.The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial authority in interpreting federal law, including the federal Constitution, federal statutes, and federal regulations.The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the supreme law is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as various civil liberties.
AgricultureCultivation of plants and animals to produce foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materialsModern agriculture: a center pivot irrigation system on a fieldAgriculture is the practice of cultivating the soil, planting, raising, and harvesting both food and non-food crops, as well as livestock production. Broader definitions also include forestry and aquaculture.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.