This is a list of bioterrorist incidents.
Guidelines
The definitions of bioterrorism for the purpose of this article are: The use of violence or of the threat of violence in the pursuit of political, religious, ideological or social objectives Acts committed by non-state actors (or by undercover personnel serving on the behalf of their respective governments) Acts reaching more than the immediate target victims and also directed at targets consisting of a larger spectrum of society Both mala prohibita (i.e., crime that is made illegal by legislation) and mala in se (i.e., crime that is inherently immoral or wrong) Committed with the use of biological agents
The following criteria of violence or threat of violence fall outside of the definition of this article: Wartime (including a declared war) or peacetime acts of violence committed by a nation state against another nation state regardless of legality or illegality and are carried out by properly uniformed forces or legal combatants of such nation states (See biological warfare) Reasonable acts of self-defense, such as the use of force to kill, apprehend, or punish criminals who pose a threat to the lives of humans or property Legitimate targets in war, such as enemy combatants and strategic infrastructure that form an integral part of the enemy's war effort such as defense industries and ports Collateral damage, including the infliction of incidental damage to non-combatant targets during an attack on or attempting to attack legitimate targets in war Targeted murders or poisonings carried out with the use of biological agents, not for political or religious purposes Plans that were not carried out
List DateIncidentAgentDeadInjuredLocationDetailsPerpetratorReferences1941-1945Unknown200UnknownPolandUnconfirmed reports indicated that the Polish resistance killed 200 German soldiers with biological agents such as “typhoid fever microbes and typhoid fever lice” and letters contaminated with anthrax.Polish resistance1952Euphorbia grantii toxinUnknownUnknownBritish KenyaDuring the Mau Mau Uprising, the plant toxin of the African milk bush was used to poison livestock by the Mau Mau.Mau MauOctober, 1981 Operation Dark HarvestBacillus anthracisUnknownUnknown Porton Down, United KingdomDark Harvest Commando, a militant group, demanded the British government decontaminate Gruinard Island, a site which had been used for anthrax weapon testing during World War II, by distributing potentially anthrax-laden soil on the mainland.Dark Harvest CommandoAugust 29–October 10, 19841984 Rajneeshee bioterror attackSalmonella0751 The Dalles, United StatesThe Rajneeshee cult spread salmonella in salad bars at ten restaurants in The Dalles, Oregon to influence a local election. Health officials say that 751 people were sickened and more than 40 hospitalized.RajneesheeJuly–December, 19891989 California medfly attackCeratitis capitata (Medfly)00Southern California, United StatesDuring the summer and fall of 1989, several outbreaks of medflies occurred throughout Southern California, particularly in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The outbreaks devastated crops."The Breeders"(Unresolved)Johnson, John. "Invasion by Medfly Defies Logic, Scientists Say Infestation: Experts discover peculiar patterns in the spread of the stubborn fruit fly", Los Angeles Times, December 30, 1989, accessed February 21, 2012.April 1990Botulinum toxin00JapanThe religious group Aum Shinrikyo outfitted three vehicles to disseminate botulinum toxin at the National Diet Building, Yokosuka naval base and the Narita International AirportAum ShinrikyoJune 28–July 2, 1993Kameido Odor IncidentBacillus anthracis00Kameido, Tokyo, JapanThe religious group Aum Shinrikyo released anthrax in Tokyo. Eyewitnesses reported a foul odor. The attack was a failure, due to the fact that the group used the vaccine strain of the bacterium, and no one was infected.Aum Shinrikyo September 18–October 12, 20012001 anthrax attacksBacillus anthracis517United StatesLetters laced with infectious anthrax were concurrently delivered to news media offices and the U.S Congress, alongside an ambiguously related case in Chile. The letters killed 5.Bruce Edwards Ivins20032003 ricin lettersRicin00United StatesTwo ricin-laden letters were found on two separate occasions between October and November 2003. One letter was mailed to the White House and intercepted at a processing facility; another was discovered with no address in South Carolina. A February 2004 ricin incident at the Dirksen Senate Office Building was initially connected to the 2003 letters as well."Fallen Angel"(Unresolved)15–17 April 2013April 2013 ricin lettersRicin00Washington, D.C., United StatesAn envelope that preliminarily tested positive for ricin was intercepted at the US Capitol's off-site mail facility in Washington, D.C. According to reports, the envelope was addressed to the office of Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker.James Everett Dutschke
References