Barss, Peter. "Epidemic Field Investigation as Applied to Allegations of Chemical, Biological, or Toxin Warfare." Politics and the Life Sciences, 11, 1 (February, 1992):5-22. [Five commentaries and response, pp. 23-32]
Abstract. Chemical, biological, and toxin warfare are an increasing threat to human health, especially for poorly protected populations in developing countries. The health effects of the agents of such warfare on human populations may resemble civilian epidemics, such as outbreaks of infectious diseases and poisoning by toxic agents. In the past decade, investigations of alleged uses of chemical, biological, and toxin warfare have been conducted by governments, by multilateral agencies, and by private organizations. Considerable political and scientific controversy have arisen as a result of the questionable scientific validity of some of these investigations. It is proposed that the established epidemiologic framework normally used for investigation of civilian epidemics can be usefully adapted to provide a more structured approach to future investigations of allegations of chemical, biological, or toxin warfare. Using this framework, investigations of such allegations during the past decade are reviewed. These investigations took place during the yellow rain affair in Laos and Kampuchea, the Iran-Iraq war, and the Iraq-Kurd war. In view of the increasing number of nations, including developing countries, which now possess, or soon will possess, the capacity to manufacture and deploy chemical, biological, or toxin weapons, further allegations are likely and will require investigation. The use of appropriate epidemiologic methods will be essential in circumstances where novel agents with unknown characteristics, such as could be created by the use of biotechnology, are suspected. Policy and decision makers should familiarize themselves with the basic steps of such investigations and should ensure that suitably trained epidemiologists are included in future missions. This will help reduce the risk of serious errors, which otherwise may have adverse health consequences for the affected populations, embarrass senior government officials, and damage international relationships between nations.