Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Francisella tularensis A.

Maya - 7-2-2007 at 10:02

Some lagomorphs carry it as well as their relatives. Could they maybe spread it to people here? They say that is how the German army was stopped , not by the Soviet army or by the Russian winter.

unionised - 7-2-2007 at 10:25

If rabbits, for example, were good at transmitting this bug to people then tularemia would be common. I don't think many people have heard of it. I only know about it because I have a professional interest in zoonoses.
I don't doubt that illness played a part in Germay's problems in Russia but I'd hate to have to say what bugs were present.

Ozone - 7-2-2007 at 16:38

I know that both the Russians and the US were working on tularemia, brucellosis, Q-fever, etc. The material I have read refers to concentration and purity that would most likely refer to a weaponized product. The timing would overlap slightly as well.

Anyway, I don't think that the rabbit would serve as a very effective vector unless it was the predominant food supply. Tularemia is a reasonable choice for a debilitating, but (mostly) non-lethal BW.

In WWI more soldiers died from infections in the trenches than from enemy fire. In general, the use of B and C weapons has been found to cause equivalent casualties, viz. the user gets "bit" too. This is why no sane combatants use these today. Unfortunately, I have some concern about those who do not have a morbid fear of death (think suicide bombers).

Think positively,

O3