Yes,
they are the perfect bioweapon. Long incubation times, nearly
impossible to destroy (easier to toss out surgical equipment of infected
material), universally fatal, passed to offspring, etc. Mass
Transmission could easily be accomplished through infecting the vaccine
supply, it would be nearly impossible to detect, impossible to protect
against, and the patients die in prime earning years. You could easily
collapse any western state by establishing a medical equipment supplier
and inserting said prions into syringes, it would take a decade or
longer before you were caught, at which time it is too late to stop.
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-20612014000300001" rel="nofollow - http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-20612014000300001
Recombinant
Prions with fatal features could be developed in relatively simple
laboratories using animals such as rats, mice, and monkeys
(Supattapone, 2010; Wang et al., 2010; Legname et al., 2004; Makarava
et al., 2010). Ricin has already been used as a weapon (Augerson,
2000; National Security Notes, 2004), for example in the case that
caught the full attention of international media and was described by
Papaloucas et al (2008) and which was about a political dissident that
was killed by a supposed KGB agent using a single ricin-tipped
umbrella as a weapon. Consequently, the same mechanism can be used to
deliver Prions using simple objects without giving the victim a
chance to receive a vaccine, treatment, or a specific anti-serum
injection. Some political enemies must be eliminated and Prions can
be a possible alternative to the use of venoms, precisely because
Prions do not kill instantly and make the investigation process very
difficult to trace the assassin agent. Another class of venom that
have been used before and can be substituted by Prions are the
radioactive venom (Jordan & Finn, 2006) because Prions can cause
the same effect. One advantage is leaving no traces detectable by
anti-gama radiation equipment, such as Geiger counter, and another
advantage is being less dangerous to the assassin agent willing to
use it.
The
psychological effect caused by the use of Prions to extinguish
rivals could be as powerful as the radioactive effects, and it can
send a strong message such as "Do not play with the government
interests". The use of such weapons seems to have strong personal
issues involved because it would be easier to kill someone simply using
a gun, but with Prions, the victim agonizes for months before dying
(Papaloucas et al., 2008). The most frightening possibility would be
the use of Prions to get rid of enemies in large regions of ongoing
conflicts or political separatist wars. In theory, it would not raise
any suspicion by the international community because of its silence
mechanisms, but after years a lot of people would start dying
presenting the same symptoms and the alert would have come too late. If
Prions are made in laboratories with the purpose to be spread in the
air, it could kill a large number of people since it has been
demonstrated that CWD can be dispersed as aerosol (Denkers et al.,
2010; Haybaeck et al., 2011; Ford et al., 2002). In addition, the
decontamination of the environment can be a huge problem if Prions
are not rapidly degraded in the soil by microorganisms; some studies
have demonstrated that the soil is as possible reservoir of scrapie
and CWD agents, which can persist in the environment for years.
Attachment to soil particles likely influences the persistence and
infectivity of Prions in the environment (Smith et al., 2011; Gough
& Maddison, 2010; Saunders et al., 2009).
comment: It is not relevant as to whether prions are currently transmittable from person to person. One area of research would be modifying current forms - they are not viruses and far worse in some ways - so they could be airborne.
An effective air delivery system or contamination of a widely distributed canned or especially meat products could infect millions of people.
Research on this has been done and the most serious concern would be this technology developed by rogue states who at the same time they are talking peace i.e. Kim Jong-un - they are setting up ways to infect people. It would be very hard to trace and currently there are few effective cures.
http://www.ed.ac.uk/medicine-vet-medicine/news-events/college-events/inaugural-lecture/prions-ninja-pathogens-and-immune-system-hijackers" rel="nofollow - https://www.ed.ac.uk/medicine-vet-medicine/news-events/college-events/inaugural-lecture/prions-ninja-pathogens-and-immune-system-hijackers
Prion diseases are a unique group of brain diseases
in animals and humans which cause extensive damage to nerve cells in
the brain, to which there is currently no effective treatment or cure.
Some prion diseases can be transmitted to other animals through
consumption of contaminated food. For example, food contaminated with
BSE prions from cattle was responsible for the prion disease variant CJD
in humans.
Soon after infection the prions first accumulate in
tissues of the body’s immune system such as the spleen, lymph nodes and
tonsils, before spreading to the brain where the disease they cause
destroys nerve cells.
comment: The mainstream media does not effectively cover information on this. Over years I have researched what our greatest vulnerability from a terror attack is - and it is from an engineered biological weapon for which we have no effective vaccine or treatment.
It is highly unlikely we are going to see missiles launched with long periods of waiting and the ability to be intercepted when a few well placed infected people or contamination of food or water could take out millions.
Medclinician - not if - but when.