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Toxic weapons: How they kill |
| We've all heard of
anthrax, but what does it do? Use this chart to find out the symptoms and
untreated effects of biological and chemical agents in production around
the world. |
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BIOLOGICAL TOXINS |
|
Toxin |
Symptoms |
Effects if
untreated |
| Aflatoxin |
Headache, jaundice,
gastrointestinal distress |
Liver disease, internal bleeding,
possible death |
| Anthrax |
Fever,
malaise, cough, respiratory distress |
Shock and death
within 36 hours of severe symptoms |
| Botulinum toxins |
Weakness, dizziness,
dry throat, blurred vision, problems speaking and hearing, difficulty
swallowing |
Paralysis, respiratory failure,
death |
| Bubonic
plague |
Malaise,
high fever, tender lymph nodes |
Blood poisoning,
death |
| Cholera |
Vomiting, abdominal
distension, pain, diarrhea |
Severe dehydration, shock,
death |
| Pneumonic
plague |
High
fever, chills, headache, coughing up blood, blood poisoning |
Respiratory failure,
circulatory collapse, heavy bleeding, death |
| Q fever |
Fever, cough, chest
pain |
Generally not fatal |
| Ricin |
Weakness,
fever, cough, hypothermia |
Dangerously low
blood pressure, heart failure, death |
| Smallpox |
Malaise, fever, vomiting,
headache, backache, blisterlike rash |
Bone marrow depression, bleeding,
death |
| Staphylococcal
enterotoxin B |
Fever,
chills, headache, muscle aches, cough |
Septic shock,
death |
| Tularemia |
Swollen glands, fever,
headache, malaise, weight loss, nonproductive cough |
Generally not fatal |
| Viral hemorrhagic
fevers |
Easy
bleeding, red spots on skin, low blood pressure, flushed face and chest,
swelling of ankles and other joints |
Uncontrollable
bleeding, circulatory collapse, death |
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CHEMICAL TOXINS |
|
Toxin |
Symptoms |
Effects if
untreated |
| Nerve agents, including VX, GB
and GD |
Runny nose, tightness
of chest, dim vision, pinpointing of eye pupils, difficulty breathing, drooling,
excessive sweating. Nausea, vomiting, cramps, involuntary urination and
defecation, jerking, staggering, headache, confusion, drowsiness |
Convulsions, coma, cessation
of breathing, death |
| Sulfur Mustard
Agent |
Eye
irritation, skin blemishes and blisters, inflammation of the nose, throat
and lung, malaise, vomiting, fever. Classified as a carcinogen. |
Blocks cell growth,
suppresses bone marrow |
Sources: U.S. Army
Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine |
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