Chemical and Biological Warfare: Medical Effects and Consequences
![handle is hein.journals/mcgil28 and id is 744 raw text is: Chemical and Biological Warfare: Medical Effects
and Consequences
Leonhard S. Wolfe*
The threat to mankind posed by chemical and
biological weapons rivals that of nuclear
weapons. However, sophisticated delivery
systems are not essential to chemical war-
fare, and consequently, the threat of sabo-
tage may be much greater than is the case
with nuclear weapons. The author traces the
development and incidence of synthetic
chemical warfare from its roots in the fourth
century B.C., through the nerve gases
discovered after World War I, to the military
use of psychochemicals. He then discusses
biological or bacteriological warfare, espe-
cially the military use of microbial toxins and
mycotoxins, the Yellow Rain issue, and
defoliants such as Agent Orange. In the
author's opinion, the health care systems of
developed nations would be virtually non-
functional in the aftermath of a war fought
with chemical or biological weapons. De-
veloping countries would be affected even
more seriously. The long term effects to sur-
vivors are far from clear, but enough is
known that public concern and action,
prompting legal control of such weapons,
must be aroused before man's own
technological sophistication leads to the de-
struction of himself and his world.
La menace pesant sur la race humaine h tra-
vers les armes chimiques et biologiques riva-
lise celle des armes nucl~aires. Toutefois,
les armes chimiques ne requ6rant pas
d'appareillage sophistiqu6, le danger de
sabotage est beaucoup plus grand dans leur
cas. L'auteur d~crit l'volution et l'impact
de ]a guerre chimique et synth6tique de ses
d6buts au 4e si~ele av. J.-C., en passant par
le d6veloppement des gaz de combat apr~s ]a
premiere guerre mondiale, jusqu'A l'utilisa-
tion de produits psychochimiques A des fins
militaires. 11 traite ensuite de la guerre biolo-
gique ou bact&iologique en mettant 'accent
sur l'utilisation A des fins militaires des
toxines microbiennes et des mycotoxines, de
la question de ]a Pluie jaune et des d6fo-
liants tels l'Agent orange. Selon l'auteur,
les syst~mes de soins m6dicaux des pays
d6velopp6s seraient inefficaces apr~s une
guerre o~i des armes chimiques ou biologi-
ques auraient dt6 utilis~es. Les pays en voie
de d6veloppement seraient encore plus s6-
rieusement affect6s. Les effets A long terme
sur les survivants sont loin d'8tre connus
mais nous en savons assez pour r6aliser 'ur-
gence de mobiliser l'opinion publique afin
d'acc6l&rer le contr6le juridique de telles
armes avant que le d6veloppement technolo-
gique de l'homme ne le conduise A sa propre
destruction et A celle de son milieu.
*M.D., Sc.D., F.R.C.P.(C), F.R.S.(C), Professor, Department of Neurology and Neuro-
surgery, Montrdal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/mcgil28&div=34&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Chemical and Biological Warfare: Medical Effects and Consequences
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