Two recent happenings have evoked anxiety and concern the world over as both pose serious threat to humanity . The outbreak of deadly Cornovirus and the swarms of Lotus destroying standing crop in India and Pakistan are already playing havoc.
What if a virus like Corno and swarms of lotus or bees are used as Biological Warfare (BW)? Even missiles can't stop such attacks. The deadly Cornovirus has taken a toll of over 260, mostly in China. It has spread to more than 20 nations including India. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared emergency over the outbreak of the virus calling on all countries to take urgent measures to contain the respiratory disease.
Another threat is the swarms of lotus that sometime make even our technology subservient to the this insect as recently happened when India Air Force had to be standstill after lotus invaded the border of Rajasthan. Adult locust swarms can fly up to 150 km a day with the wind and adult insects can consume roughly their own weight in fresh food per day.The swarms of lotus destroyed crop in large areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab'
The invaders came from Iran and Pakistan. Happily, India was able to bring swarms of desert locusts under control with timely measures. The change in wind direction had also helped preventing a spread and large-scale damage to the rapeseed and cumin seed crops, in Gujarat and Rajasthan. However, Pakistan hasn't been able to stop the lotus invasion and has declared emergency.
The deadly attack by Cornovirus and lotus can be more dangerous if used as warfare. Remember how “yellow rain,” made of fungus toxins was used as a chemical weapon in Vietnam war. After investigation, U.S. analysts concluded in 1981 that the “yellow rain,” as weapons were given to the Viet Cong and Pathet Lao, by Russia who dropped it on the Hmong, the tribes who sided with American in Vietnam war.
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi as an act of war. Biological weapons are living organisms or replicating entities that reproduce or replicate within their host victims. Entomological (insect) warfare is also considered a type of biological weapon.
This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare and chemical warfare, which together with biological warfare make up NBC, the military initialism for nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare using weapons of mass destruction). Biological weapons may be employed in various ways to gain a strategic or tactical advantage over the enemy, either by threats or by actual deployments. Like some chemical weapons, biological weapons may also be useful as area denial weapons. These agents may be lethal or non-lethal, and may be targeted against a single individual, a group of people, or even an entire population. They may be developed, acquired, stockpiled or deployed by nation states or by non-national groups.
The danger of biological warfare is more conspicuous in the contemporary world as hatred and hostility are the order of the day. Humans are out to kill humanity. Even a culturally enriched and "unity in diversity"- ridden country India is not spared of hatred and hostility. Really, situation is too serious.