Biological Welfare Agent Overview: In this unit, you will finish working on your course project (Biological Welfare Agent). All your research and focus for this course project will be taking on the r

6

Biological Welfare Agent

Rashid Osmanu

EMH370 Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction

Dr. Dan Rector

03/30/2025

Biological Welfare Agent

Antunes, J. C., Moreira, I. P., Gomes, F., Cunha, F., Henriques, M., & Fangueiro, R. (2022). Recent trends in protective textiles against biological threats: a focus on biological warfare agents. Polymers, 14(8), 1599. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14081599

Antunes et al. (2022) call for advancing protective textiles to protect forefront individuals who fight biological threats. The paper defines biological welfare agents (BWAs) as the numerous threats that intentionally promote large-scale morbidity and mortality to humans, plants, and animals. Antunes et al. (2022) believe in improving heavy and warm protective clothing to light, comfortable, and multi-functional textiles to manage and resolve these bioactive agents effectively. This article provides valuable insight into protective clothing, a crucial step in emergency preparedness and response. The paper offers detailed information on biological agents and the essence of modernized protective clothing to the first responders against traditional wear. However, further studies on the real-world applicability and long-term effectiveness of these modernized protective wear will help build a more comprehensive notion of fighting BWAS. The article complements other literature, focusing on mitigation rather than detection and treatment. Certainly, modernized protective textiles will protect the first responders of biological warfare.

Flora, S. J. S. (2020). Biological warfare agents: History and modern-day relevance. In Handbook on biological warfare preparedness (pp. 1-11). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812026-2.00001-3

Flora (2020) provides a historical overview of BWAs and their continued relevance in modern conflicts. The author offers valuable insight into the evolution of BWAs, their classification, and their detection. Flora (2020) provides detailed historical cases of the BWAs' use, offering a nuanced understanding of their mass destruction effects on humanity. Compared to other sources, the chapter offers a comprehensive foundation for studying BWAs, highlighting the significance of preparedness in mitigating the agents. Although the paper acknowledges the importance of readiness, it fails to provide the technical details of modernized detection technologies as the specialized scientific articles. Truly, the chapter advances the knowledge of BWAs by giving a historical overview, classification, and detection of biological agents.

Gisselsson, D. (2022). Next-generation biowarfare: small in scale, sensational in nature?. Health security, 20(2), 182-186. https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2021.0165

Gisselsson (2022) explores the evolving nature of biological warfare with significant psychological and societal impact. The article provides insights into why this warfare is a concern due to its morph from large weapons of mass destruction to a targeted attack with detrimental effects. Gisselsson (2022) acknowledges that biological agents threaten human, plant, and animal health, leading to widespread illness and death. The author believes that the 21st-century BWAs have evolved into psychological operations that create fear, misinformation, and political turmoil, as demonstrated by COVID-19. The paper is highly relevant due to its forward perception of the BWA evolution. This distinct highlight of the modern threats and the importance of preparedness differentiates it from traditional discussions. Gisselsson (2022) provides a deeper perception and explanation of these future BWAs. However, the paper lacks a comprehensive specific technical analysis of explicit synthetic biological advancements. Indeed, policymakers must be vigilant and updated with the evolving BWAs, as Gisselsson (2022) explored.

Wani, A. K., Akhtar, N., Sena, S., & Singh, J. (2022). Microbial forensics: A potential tool for investigation and response to bioterrorism. Health Sciences Review, 5, 100068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hsr.2022.100068

Wani et al. (2022) examine microbial forensics as a possible tool for detecting and responding to BWAs. Wani et al. (2022) believe that microbial forensics will be revolutionary in biodefense as bacteria and viruses are engineered to form biological weapons. The authors also summarize various detection methods and phases of bioterror attacks. The paper bridges the gap between forensics and biodefense, providing scientific methodologies for preventing current BWAs. The article offers a distinct outlook on using microbial forensics as a detection and response strategy for BWAs. This highlight differs from the convection sources that examine the historical use or the broader defense strategies. Wani et al. (2022) advance knowledge of BWAs by exploring the forensic and investigative dimensions. However, microbial forensics is still an evolving field, and the paper does not provide the real-world applicability of the idea. Notably, Wani et al. (2022) offer a distinct insight into detecting and responding to BWAs.

References

Antunes, J. C., Moreira, I. P., Gomes, F., Cunha, F., Henriques, M., & Fangueiro, R. (2022). Recent trends in protective textiles against biological threats: a focus on biological warfare agents. Polymers, 14(8), 1599. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14081599

Flora, S. J. S. (2020). Biological warfare agents: History and modern-day relevance. In Handbook on biological warfare preparedness (pp. 1-11). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812026-2.00001-3

Gisselsson, D. (2022). Next-generation biowarfare: small in scale, sensational in nature?. Health security, 20(2), 182-186. https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2021.0165

Wani, A. K., Akhtar, N., Sena, S., & Singh, J. (2022). Microbial forensics: A potential tool for investigation and response to bioterrorism. Health Sciences Review, 5, 100068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hsr.2022.100068