Virtually no nation with the ability to develop such weapons has abstained from doing so.
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The current debate about biological weapons is certainly important in raising awareness and increasing our preparedness to counter a potential attack. It could also prevent an overreaction such as that caused in response to the anthrax letters mailed in the USA. However, contrasting the speculative nature of biological attacks with the grim reality of the millions of people who still die each year from preventable infections, we might ask ourselves just how many resources we can afford to allocate in preparation for a hypothetical human-inflicted disaster.
Various types of biological warfare (BW) have been practiced repeatedly throughout history. This has included the use of biological agents (microbes and plants) as well as the biotoxins, including venoms, derived from them.
Before the 20th century, the use of biological agents took three major forms:
Deliberate contamination of food and water with poisonous or contagious material
Use of microbes, biological toxins, animals, or plants (living or dead) in a weapon system
Use of biologically inoculated fabrics and persons
In the 20th century, sophisticated bacteriological and virological techniques allowed the production of significant stockpiles of weaponized bio-agents.
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Condensed from Wikipedia:
1 Antiquity
2 Middle Ages
3 17th and 18th century
3.1 Europe
3.2 North America
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