Bio Weapons

Key Features of Biologic Agents Used as Bioweapons
1. High morbidity and mortality rates
2. Potential for person-to-person spread
3. Low infective dose and highly infectious by aerosol
4. Lack of rapid diagnostic capability
5. Lack of universally available effective vaccine
6. Potential to cause anxiety
7. Availability of pathogen and feasibility of production
8. Environmental stability
9. Database of prior research and development
10. Potential to be "weaponized 

CDC Category A, B, and C Agents 

Category A
 Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
 Botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin)
 Plague (Yersinia pestis)
 Smallpox (Variola major)
 Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)
 Viral hemorrhagic fevers
 Arenaviruses: Lassa, New World (Machupo, Junin, Guanarito, and Sabia)
 Bunyaviridae: Crimean-Congo, Rift Valley
 Filoviridae: Ebola, Marburg
Category B
 Brucellosis (Brucella spp.)
 Epsilon toxin of Clostridium perfringens
 Food safety threats (e.g., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli
 0157:H7, Shigella)
 Glanders (Burkholderia mallei)
 Melioidosis (B. pseudomallei)
 Psittacosis (Chlamydophila psittaci)
 Q fever (Coxiella burnetii)
 Ricin toxin from Ricinus communis (castor beans)
 Staphylococcal enterotoxin B
 Typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii)
 Viral encephalitis [alphaviruses (e.g., Venezuelan, eastern, and western equine encephalitis)]
 Water safety threats (e.g., Vibrio cholerae, Cryptosporidium parvum)
Category C
 Emerging infectious diseases threats such as Nipah, hantavirus, SARS coronavirus, and pandemic influenza