Regulations on Genetically Modified Microorganisms & Their Relation to Bioterrorism in India

Covid-19, a virus-driven pandemic, has shown the world the possible dangers posed by microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, fungi, and their toxins. However, genetically engineered microorganisms are helpful in various biosciences fields, including medication, horticulture, and fundamental investigation into life processes. Among these, some genetically altered microorganisms have drastic potential to cause harm to humans, and the environment, like the current coronavirus pandemic has shaken the world with fatalities caused by it worldwide and crashed the global economy. On the one hand, genetically engineered organisms help understand the ultrastructure of these organisms and as a tool to combat the disease caused by them. On the other, the increasing research on this also poses a threat to the occurrence of pandemics throughout the world. In India, genetically altered microorganisms are regulated by the Rules, 1989 under sections 6,8 and 25 of the Environment Act, 1986. Bioterrorism is the systematic and deliberate deployment of hazardous organisms such as bacteria, viruses, or toxins to spread infectious diseases on a massive scale to wipe out a vast population. The global incidents of the recent twenty years presented that the danger of biological fighting isn't a fictional thing yet a harsh truth. Hazardous microbes can be utilised in bioterrorism by seeing flare-ups brought about by microorganisms. So, there is a need to improve the countermeasures to tackle the spread of infectious diseases. This review covers the various regulations for genetically altered microorganisms in India regarding their sale, import-export storage, and creation, emphasising regulating bodies;their constitution, and application forms for the registrations and approval for research on such microorganisms, and this assessment presents a clear overview of the country's probable biothreats, current laws, and regulations to combat such incidents, with a significant necessity for their execution, and biodefense measures for readiness and defence, in favour of making India a bioterror-free country. Copyright © 2022 Assiut University. All rights reserved.

Terrorism-Related Chemical, Biological, Radiation, and Nuclear Attacks: A Historical Global Comparison Influencing the Emergence of Counter-Terrorism Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Terrorist attacks are growing in complexity, increasing concerns around the use of chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear (CBRN) agents. This has led to increasing interest in Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) as a Disaster Medicine (DM) sub-specialty. This study aims to provide the epidemiology of CBRN use in terrorism, to detail specific agents used, and to develop training programs for responders. METHODS: The open-source Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all CBRN attacks from January 1, 1970 through December 31, 2018. Attacks were included if they fulfilled the terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD's Codebook. Ambiguous events or those meeting only partial criteria were excluded. The database does not include acts of state terrorism. RESULTS: There were 390 total CBRN incidents, causing 930 total fatal injuries (FI) and 14,167 total non-fatal injuries (NFI). A total of 347 chemical attacks (88.9% of total) caused 921 FI (99.0%) and 13,361 NFI (94.3%). Thirty-one biological attacks (8.0%) caused nine FI (1.0%) and 806 NFI (5.7%). Twelve radiation attacks (3.1%) caused zero FI and zero NFI. There were no nuclear attacks. The use of CBRN accounted for less than 0.3% of all terrorist attacks and is a high-risk, low-frequency attack methodology.The Taliban was implicated in 40 of the 347 chemical events, utilizing a mixture of agents including unconfirmed chemical gases (grey literature suggests white phosphorous and chlorine), contaminating water sources with pesticides, and the use of corrosive acid. The Sarin gas attack in Tokyo contributed to 5,500 NFI. Biological attacks accounted for 8.0% of CBRN attacks. Anthrax was used or suspected in 20 of the 31 events, followed by salmonella (5), ricin (3), fecal matter (1), botulinum toxin (1), and HIV (1). Radiation attacks accounted for 3.1% of CBRN attacks. Monazite was used in 10 of the 12 events, followed by iodine 131 (1) and undetermined irradiated plates (1). CONCLUSION: Currently, CBRN are low-frequency, high-impact attack modalities and remain a concern given the rising rate of terrorist events. Counter-Terrorism Medicine is a developing DM sub-specialty focusing on the mitigation of health care risks from such events. First responders and health care workers should be aware of historic use of CBRN weapons regionally and globally, and should train and prepare to respond appropriately.

Disinformation and Epidemics: Anticipating the Next Phase of Biowarfare.

While biological warfare has classically been considered a threat requiring the presence of a distinct biological agent, we argue that in light of the rise of state-sponsored online disinformation campaigns we are approaching a fifth phase of biowarfare with a "cyber-bio" framing. By examining the rise of measles cases following disinformation campaigns connected to the US 2016 presidential elections, the rise of disinformation in the current novel coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, and the impact of misinformation on public health interventions during the 2014-2016 West Africa and 2019-2020 Democratic Republic of the Congo Ebola outbreaks, we ask whether the potential impact of these campaigns-which includes the undermining of sociopolitical systems, the delegitimization of public health and scientific bodies, and the diversion of the public health response-can be characterized as analogous to the impacts of more traditional conceptions of biowarfare. In this paper, we look at these different impacts and the norms related to the use of biological weapons and cyber campaigns. By doing so, we anticipate the advent of a combined cyber and biological warfare. The latter is not dependent on the existence of a manufactured biological weapon; it manages to undermine sociopolitical systems and public health through the weaponization of naturally occurring outbreaks.

Biowarfare, bioterrorism and biocrime: A historical overview on microbial harmful applications.

Microbial Forensics is a field that continues to grow in interest and application among the forensic community. This review, divided into two sections, covers several topics associated with this new field. The first section presents a historic overview concerning the use of microorganisms (or its product, i.e. toxins) as harmful biological agents in the context of biological warfare (biowarfare), bioterrorism, and biocrime. Each case is illustrated with the examination of case reports that span from prehistory to the present day. The second part of the manuscript is devoted to the role of MF and highlights the necessity to prepare for the pressing threat of the harmful use of biological agents as weapons. Preventative actions, developments within the field to ensure a timely and effective response and are discussed herein.