Biohazards of Protein Biotoxins

Abstract

Biotoxins are toxic substances produced by a living organism that cause diseases in humanbeings, animals, or plants. The agent may be lethal or incapacitating. The new, emerging threatagents are biotoxins produced by animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Many types of organismsproduce substances that are toxic to humans. Examples of such biotoxins are botulinum toxin,tetanus toxin, and ricin. Several bioactive molecules produced by the pharmaceutical industrycan be even more toxic than the classical chemical warfare agents. Such new agents, like thebiotoxins and bioregulators, often are called mid-spectrum agents. The threat to human beingsfrom agents developed by modern chemical synthesis and by genetic engineering also must beconsidered, since such agents may be more toxic or more effective in causing death orincapacitation than classical warfare agents. By developing effective medical protection andtreatment against the most likely chemical and mid-spectrum threat agents, the effects of suchagents in a war scenario or following a terrorist attack can be reduced. Toxin-mediated diseaseshave made human beings ill for millennia. The use of biological agents as weapons of terror hasnow been realised, and separating naturally occurring disease from bioterroristic events hasbecome an important public health goal.