Melioidosis - Biological Warfare Potential

Biological Warfare Potential

There has been interest in melioidosis because it has the potential to be developed as a biological weapon. It is classed by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as a Category B agent. B. pseudomallei, like its relative B. mallei which causes Glanders, was studied by the U.S. as a potential biological warfare agent, but was never weaponized. It has been reported that the Soviet Union was also experimenting with B. pseudomallei as a biological warfare agent.

Read more about this topic:  Melioidosis

Famous quotes containing the words biological, warfare and/or potential:

    “When human beings have been fascinated by the contemplation of their own hearts, the more intricate biological pattern of the female has become a model for the artist, the mystic, and the saint. When mankind turns instead to what can be done, altered, built, invented, in the outer world, all natural properties of men, animals, or metals become handicaps to be altered rather than clues to be followed.”
    —Margaret Mead (1901–1978)

    “And God would bid His warfare cease,
    Saying all things were well;
    And softly make a rosy peace,
    A peace of Heaven with Hell.”
    —William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

    “Views of women, on one side, as inwardly directed toward home and family and notions of men, on the other, as outwardly striving toward fame and fortune have resounded throughout literature and in the texts of history, biology, and psychology until they seem uncontestable. Such dichotomous views defy the complexities of individuals and stifle the potential for people to reveal different dimensions of themselves in various settings.”
    —Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)