terrorism

[DrPizza]

Recently I was forced to sit through a training seminar geared towards spotting threats, potential threats, etc.

One of the presenters starting coming up with some really outlandish things, including that terrorists were using all sorts of biological agents for terrorism... as they went through the examples, we were told that they were using rabies, because it's easy to obtain the germs and it's easy to spread. Someone remarked, "are you just speculating that rabies *could* be used, or did someone actually use rabies?"

The response: "wellllllll, there HAS been one case where someone was using rabies..."


Sooo, I ask you, people with your fingers on the pulse of the internet and connected to every bizarre thing that happens in the world, have any of you heard of this tale before?

 

[Ika]

Nope.

 

[Kilgor]

I'm pretty sure some government have developed some kinds of bioweapons and stuff from rabies. but the only recent biological type weapons I've heard of being used in terror attacks were Sarin and Anthrax.

 

[phisrow]

Rabies would be a pretty silly agent to weaponize, unless one had considerable engineering expertise. It is almost always transmitted by infected saliva in bites, and possibly other sorts of blood/fluid contact. I've never heard of a single case of rabies spread by inhalation or contact with unbroken skin.

One might be able to overcome this problem, with enough tweaking, and the disease is a nasty one; but there are all sorts of diseases that are a whole lot more plausible.

 

[Miramonti]

Whoever suggested its been done before is probably rabid.

 

[Horus]

Originally posted by: jjsole
Whoever suggested its been done before is probably stupid.

Fixed.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

sounds like grade A fear mongering to me.

 

[lizardth]

Originally posted by: phisrow
Rabies would be a pretty silly agent to weaponize, unless one had considerable engineering expertise. It is almost always transmitted by infected saliva in bites, and possibly other sorts of blood/fluid contact. I've never heard of a single case of rabies spread by inhalation or contact with unbroken skin.

One might be able to overcome this problem, with enough tweaking, and the disease is a nasty one; but there are all sorts of diseases that are a whole lot more plausible.

Not to mention of couse that rabies can take YEARS to kill someone...

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude
sounds like grade A fear mongering to me.

Pretty much what I thought. Thanks everyone.