Biological hazards
In the context of civil protection and hazard prevention, biological hazards are situations or circumstances in which there is a risk of significant negative effects for people or the environment due to the deliberate or negligent release or natural spread of biological agents . The biological agents are toxins and pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria , viruses and fungi . Typical scenarios for biological hazards include the use of biological agents in terrorist attacks , accidental releases due to laboratory or transport accidents, the outbreak of animal diseases, and the epidemic of human infectious diseases due to hygiene problems or other deficiencies in prevention .
Biological hazards are associated with a number of specific difficulties. These include problems in assessing the likelihood of occurrence, the difficult perceptibility due to the silent and invisible spread of biological agents, a considerable time lag between the triggering event and the occurrence of the effects, as well as the spatial and temporal spread via paths that are difficult to influence such as Land , air and water-bound passenger and goods traffic flows , via water cycles and food chains as well as via the movement of wild animals . Further characteristics of biological hazard situations are an often considerable increase in the amount of pathogen originally released in the course of spread, a large variability of the risk depending on the dose and the infection routes as well as the infectivity , virulence , pathogenicity , lethality and tenacity of pathogens, corresponding problems with the Predictability of the temporal and spatial course of the effects as well as a great fear and panic potential .
Historical examples of biological hazards include the outbreak of the Marburg virus in the city of Marburg due to laboratory accidents in August 1967, the terrorist attacks from September to November 2001 due to the dispatch of anthrax pathogens to the United States and the spread of the H5N1 avian flu in Germany from February to April 2006. Both the prevention and the control of dangerous biological situations are usually associated with significantly higher material and personnel costs than other dangers with comparable damage potential. This includes, among other things, the provision of cost-intensive special technology for hazard detection and elimination as well as personal protection, the special training of specialist staff and intensive medical care for affected people in specialized hospitals or special isolation wards .
literature
- Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Protection, Robert Koch Institute (Ed.): Biological Hazards I. Handbook on Civil Protection . Third edition. Bonn 2007, ISBN 3-939347-06-X
- Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Control, Robert Koch Institute (Ed.): Biological Hazards II. Decision-making aids on medically appropriate procedures in a B-hazard situation. Third edition. Bonn 2007, ISBN 3-939347-07-8
