- Biological Warfare in Historical Perspective (STS-Science and Technology)

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Biological warfare is a concept that has its roots in history . In the Bible for example , the journey of the Israelites was marred by many uneventful happenings . Most of concern here is the issue of biological warfare which is well outlined in the Book of Numbers Chapter 21 . The Israelites had started grumbling against the Lord and Moses when the Lord sent venomous snakes that caused death by biting . Additionally , in the earliest literature of Homer and Iliad there is the concept of using

br poisoned spears in the Trojan War . The Victorian era has this concept too , when we find the aspect of biological warfare in Shakespearean literature in the play `Hamlet ' where both Hamlet and the King die due to injury from a poisoned sword and wine respectively

This serves to allude to the fact that literature is a reflection of the reality of a society therefore biological warfare was rife in this society . In the context of the meaning biological warfare , many definitions have been put forward in an attempt to explain various issues and interests . Dire in his journal Biological Warfare Agents defines it as any toxic substance or organism capable of being used to kill , maim , render useless or stop an imminent foe or protection from one and it is found in nature [1]

The Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention , 1972 , defines biological warfare as microbial substances or toxins of different modes of production or origin , the different categories and measures...