Biological Agent

Information about Biological Agent

A sampling of Bacillus anthracis—Anthrax

A biological agent is an infectious disease or toxin that can be used in bioterrorism or biological warfare. There are more than 1200 different kinds of biological agents.

Biological agents include prions, microorganisms (viruses, bacteria and fungi) and some unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes (for example parasites) and their associated toxins. They have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from allergic reactions that are usually relatively mild, to serious medical conditions, even death. These organisms are ubiquitous in the natural environment; they are found in water, soil, plants, and animals. Because many biological agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for preservation, they are a potential danger in a wide variety of occupational settings.

Examples of biological agents are anthrax, avian influenza, botulism, foodborne illness, hantavirus, Legionnaires' disease, molds and fungi, pneumonic plague, smallpox, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs).

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infectious disease is a clinically evident disease resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions.
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toxin (Greek: τοξικόν, toxikon, lit. (poison) for use on arrows) is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms.
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Bioterrorism is terrorism by intentional release or dissemination of biological agents (bacteria, viruses or toxins); these may be in a naturally-occurring or in a human-modified form.

Definition

According to the U.S.
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For the use of biological agents by terrorists, see bioterrorism.

Biological warfare (BW), also known as a germ warfare, biological weapons, and bioweapons
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Prion Diseases (TSEs)
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 A81
ICD-9 046

A prion (IPA: /ˈpriːɒn/^[1]
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microorganism (also spelled as microrganism) or microbe is an organism that is microscopic (too small to be seen by the human eye). The study of microorganisms is called microbiology.
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Bacteria

Phyla

Actinobacteria
Aquificae
Chlamydiae
Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi
Chloroflexi
Chrysiogenetes
Cyanobacteria
Deferribacteres
Deinococcus-Thermus
Dictyoglomi
Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria
Firmicutes
Fusobacteria
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Eukarya
Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
(unranked) Opisthokonta

Kingdom: Fungi
(L., 1753) R.T. Moore, 1980^[1]

Subkingdom/Phyla

Chytridiomycota

Blastocladiomycota

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Parasitism is one version of symbiosis ("living together"), a phenomenon in which two organisms which are phylogenetically unrelated co-exist over a prolonged period of time, usually the lifetime of one of the individuals.
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toxin (Greek: τοξικόν, toxikon, lit. (poison) for use on arrows) is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms.
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In 1948, in its constitution, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" ^[1].
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worldwide view of the subject.
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Classification & external resources

ICD-10 T 78.4
ICD-9 995.
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Death is the permanent end of the life of a biological organism. Death may refer to the end of life as either an event or condition.^[1] Many factors can cause or contribute to an organism's death, including predation, disease, habitat destruction, senescence,
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Anthrax
Classification & external resources

Microphotograph of a Gram stain the bacterium Bacillus anthracis which causes anthrax.
ICD-10 A 22.
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Avian flu (also "bird flu", "avian influenza", "bird influenza"), means "flu from viruses adapted to birds", but is sometimes mistakenly used to refer to both other flu subsets (such as H5N1 flu) or the viruses that cause them (such as H5N1).
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Botulism
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 A 05.1
ICD-9 005.1

DiseasesDB 2811
MedlinePlus 000598
eMedicine med/238 emerg/64

MeSH C01.252.410.222.
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Foodborne illness
Classification & external resources

ICD-9 005.9

DiseasesDB 31112

eMedicine med/807 A foodborne illness (also foodborne disease) is any illness resulting from the consumption of food.
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Hantaviruses belong to the bunyaviridae family of viruses. There are 5 genera within the bunyaviridae family: bunyavirus, phlebovirus, nairovirus, tospovirus, and hantavirus. Each is made up of negative-sensed, single-stranded RNA viruses.
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Legionellosis
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 A 48.1 , A 48.2
ICD-9 482.84

DiseasesDB 7366

eMedicine emerg/295
MeSH D007876 Legionellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria belonging to the genus
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Molds (or moulds, see spelling differences) include all species of microscopic fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments, called hyphae.^[1] In contrast, microscopic fungi that grow as single cells are called yeasts.
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Eukarya
Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
(unranked) Opisthokonta

Kingdom: Fungi
(L., 1753) R.T. Moore, 1980^[1]

Subkingdom/Phyla

Chytridiomycota

Blastocladiomycota

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Bubonic Plague
Classification & external resources

Yersinia pestis'' seen at 2000x magnification with a fluorescent label. This bacterium, carried and spread by fleas, is the cause of the various forms of the disease plague.
ICD-10 A 20.
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Smallpox
Classification & external resources

A child infected with smallpox
ICD-10 B 03.
ICD-9 050

DiseasesDB 12219
MedlinePlus 001356
eMedicine emerg/885

MeSH D012899
Main characteristics
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Tularemia (also known as "rabbit fever") is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. The disease is endemic in North America, and parts of Europe and Asia.
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Viral hemorrhagic fever
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 A96-A99

The viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a diverse group of animal and human illnesses that are caused by four distinct families of RNA viruses: the Arenaviridae,
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biological hazard or biohazard is an organism, or substance derived from an organism, that poses a threat to (primarily) human health. This can include medical waste, samples of a microorganism, virus or toxin (from a biological source) that can impact human health.
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