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Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis and Yersinia pestis. The most important bacterial warfare agents — review

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Abstract

There are three most important bacterial causative agents of serious infections that could be misused for warfare purposes: Bacillus anthracis (the causative agent of anthrax) is the most frequently mentioned one; however, Fracisella tularensis (causing tularemia) and Yersinia pestis (the causative agent of plague) are further bacterial agents enlisted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into the category A of potential biological weapons. This review intends to summarize basic information about these bacterial agents. Military aspects of their pathogenesis and the detection techniques suitable for field use are discussed.

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Abbreviations

B.a. :

Bacillus anthracis

F.t. :

Francisella tularensis

Y.p. :

Yersinia pestis

BWA:

biological warfare agent

CDC:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

LAPS:

light addressable potentiometric sensor

NBC:

nuclear, biological and chemical (weapon)

PCR:

polymerase chain reaction

RAPID:

ruggedized advanced pathogen identification device

SPR:

surface plasmon resonance

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  1. Center of Advanced Studies and Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defense, 50 001, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

    M. Pohanka

  2. Department of Biochemistry and National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Masaryk University, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic

    P. Skládal

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Pohanka, M., Skládal, P. Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis and Yersinia pestis. The most important bacterial warfare agents — review. Folia Microbiol 54, 263–272 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-009-0046-1

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