Defense against toxin weapons

1 PREFACE The contents of this document are not be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized documents. Opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect doctrine. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to thank the investigators and staff of the Toxinology Division, USAMRIID for providing the backdrop for the accumulation of the information contained herein; Drs. Ed Eitzen, Robert Wannemacher, Carol Linden and Robert Boyle for technical review; Ms. Kathy Kenyon and Ms. Cherly Parrott for editorial assistance, and Mr. Gene Griffith for cover design. First Printing 1994 Reprinted 1995 Revised 1997 U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command ATTN: U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases 1425 Porter Street Fort Detrick, Maryland 21702-5011 MCMR-UIZ-A 2 3 DEFENSE AGAINST TOXIN WEAPONS David Franz DVM, PhD Colonel (ret), U.S. Army INTRODUCTION 1 UNDERSTANDING THE THREAT 5 Toxins Compared to Chemical Warfare Agents 5 Toxins on the Battlefield 7 Toxicity, Ease of Production and Stability 8 Classes and Examples of Toxins 13 How Toxins Work 17 Many Toxins, But Not an Overwhelming Problem 22 Populations at Risk 22 COUNTERMEASURES 25 Physical Protection 25 Real-Time Detection of an Attack 26 Diagnosis: General ...