Coronavirus is not a bioweapon — but bioterrorism is a real future threat

The Conversation

Dated: May 18, 2020

By: Trushar R Patel, Michael Hillary Dsouza

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has far-reaching implications as Canadians face unemployment, diminishing returns on their purchasing power and the prospect of an ensuing recession.

These challenges will be faced in the coming year despite stimulus packages announced by the Canadian government to mitigate the downturn. Unsurprisingly, comparisons with the Great Depression and the 1918 flu pandemic have drawn parallels to receding markets and the pandemic.

Concerns over coronavirus being a bioweapon have flourished, despite being a novel, naturally occurring pathogen dispersed globally though free trade and international travel.

However, an equally dangerous incident involving bioterrorism should not be ignored.

The pandemic’s effect on the world isn’t a conventional attack on government targets or the military. Rather, it’s a widespread and indiscriminate attack on global citizens and the economy. This outbreak has directly impacted the lives of billions of people, making it the most effective model for future terrorist activities and a new model for circumventing the conventions of modern warfare.

Striking at international vulnerabilities

An act of bioterrorism could have the same effect on our lives and the economy. Terrorist organizations actively seek to cripple a target economy through the employment of simple technologies in coordinated and sophisticated attacks on key infrastructure. This has normally ranged between simple targeted shootings and improvised explosives but can also include biochemical weapons such as mustard gas.

Locally, we are aware that Canada’s economy is especially vulnerable to sudden global shockwaves. This is largely because of our subsistence on resource development projects like oil and natural gas, and our bottle-necked relationships with the United States.

A little less than 10 per cent of Canada’s economy is dependent on mining, agriculture and resource extraction, combined with another 10 per cent contributed by manufacturing. A strike to any of these industries would ripple insecurities across the country and hurt a fifth of Canada’s GDP.

For instance, a key infrastructure in Canada is the rail corridor that operates from coast-to-coast. The corridor is already overburdened with the transport of crude oil and mired in rail derailments that cause disruptions to the national economy. The combined price drop in oil and the Canadian National Rail blockades initiated by the Wet’suwet’en solidarity movement against the Coastal GasLink Pipeline created market volatility and invariably shutdown Canada’s ability to transport goods, causing temporary layoffs and concern from foreign investors developing the project.

Although the economic impact of the blockades was low compared to the pandemic, the effect of disruption is important. It demonstrates the ease with which foreign and domestic terrorists can operate to undermine Canadian sovereignty and stability by targeting a few, important Canadian industries.

The effect of the blockades stalling trade and forcing temporary layoffs is similar in consequence to the imposed self-isolation preventing Canadians from working, generating income and consuming commodities.

Consistent unemployment and spending reductions in Canada can also produce a snowball effect that inches towards recession. Regardless of its size, a targeted attack can disrupt a nation enough to create instability and panic, which is the intent of terrorist groups that cannot compete equally with industrially backed, modern militaries.

Opportunity and expertise

The feasibility of designing and dispersing biological weapons varies in difficulty depending on the biological agent in question. For instance, Bacillus anthracis, an exceptionally deadly and versatile pathogenic bacterium that causes the disease anthrax, is naturally occurring in the environment and can infect humans and animals. Anthrax has recently emerged from thawing permafrost due to the effects of climate change, and manages to persist in harsh climates and environments demonstrating its versatility.

Acquiring anthrax is relatively easy and its highly infectious spores can enter the body through inhalation of aerosols or ingestion via contaminated water supplies. Consequently, anthrax is considered one of the leading potential bioweapons. In 2001, five people in the United States died after receiving mail contaminated with anthrax — no one was caught or charged.