forensic microbiology

1. presented by-
Sweety Sharma
M.phil. (14473)
APPLICATIONS OF
MICROBIAL FORENSICS IN
BIOTERRORISM

2. Introduction
 Microbial forensics is a relatively new scientific
discipline dedicated to analysing microbiological
evidence from a crime scene, that can help in
solving cases such as bioterrorism attack,
outbreaks of food borne disease etc.

3. What is bioterrorism
 Bioterrorism is terrorism by release or dissemination of
biological agents such as bacteria, viruses and toxins with
malicious intention.
 These are used to cause illness or death in people, animals ,
or plants.
 Biological agents can be spread in air as aerosols or in food or
drink
Virus
Bacteria
toxins

4. Optimum condition for effective
biological warfare
The agent
 Consistency produces a given effect- death or
disease
 Highly contagious and infective in low doses
 Short and practicable incubation time
 Difficult to identify in target population
 Suitable for mass production, storage, and
weaponisation.
 Stable during dissemination

5. Cont..……..
The target population
 Little or no natural or acquired immunity
 Little or no access to immunization or treatment
The aggressor
 Has means to protect or treat own forces and
population against the agent

6. Disease or agent Lethality (death) Incubation
period
Effective dose Environmental
stability
Lethal Agents
Anthrax High 1-6 d
10,000-50,000
spores
very stable for years
Plague High 1-6 d 100-500 organisms stable for 1 year
Smallpox High 7-17 d 10-100 organisms very stable
Ebola virus High 2-6 d 10-100 organisms unstable
Botulism High 1-5 d
0.001 mcg/Kg
weight
relatively stable
Ricin High 1-2 d 3-5 mcg/Kg weight stable
Cholera High 1-3 d 10-500 organisms unstable
Common biological warfare agents used for
bioterrorism

7. Incapacitating
Agent
Brucellosis Low months 10-100 organisms very stable
Tularemia Low 2-15 d 10-50 organisms stable for months
Q fever Low 15-40 d 1-10 organisms stable for months
Mycoplasma Low months 10-100 organisms moderately stable
T-2 Mycotoxins Moderate 1 d unknown very stable
Type B
Enterotoxin
Moderate <1 d 0.03 mcg moderately stable
Equine
encephalitis
Low 2-6 d 10-100 organisms relatively unstable

8. Clinical features
Clinical syndromes produced by biological
warfare agent
 Non specific febrile illness
 Pneumonic and gastrointestinal illness
 Pulmonary consolidation
 Effusion etc.

9. Anthrax attack 2001
http://www.anthraxwar.com/1/?page_id=
2

10. • 7 days after the terrorist attacks of sep 11, 2001 anonymous
letters laced with deadly anthrax spores began arriving at
media companies and congressional offices.
9/11/2001 9/18/2001
9/11/2001 7 days later
18/11/2001
However , now the simple act of opening an envelop
anywhere in the country could be deadly.
• Sent from Trenton to CBS News, NBC News, ABC News,
and the New York Post all located in New York City
• 5 people died in this case and 17 others were infected after
exposure.

11. Letters found
https://newsfortherevolution.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/head-of-the-fbis-anthrax-investigation-says-the-
whole-thing-was-a-sham/

12. Anthrax – an infectious usually fatal disease of
warm blooded animals, specially cattle and
sheep caused by bacterium bacillus anthrasis.
Bacillus anthracis is a rod-shaped, Gram-
positive, aerobic bacterium about 1 by 9 μm in
size.
An infectious, usually fatal disease of warm-blooded
animals, especially of cattle and sheep, caused by the
bacterium Bacillus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthrax#/media/File:Bacillus_anthracis_Gram.jpg

13. Anthrax-
Mode of transmission for
bioterrorism
 Cutaneous
 Inhalation
 Gastrointestinal
https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reopen911.info%2FNews%2F2010%2F09%2F06%2Farte-diffuse-enfin-le-film-marchands-
danthrax-mardi-7-septembre-2010%2F&ei=7x9DVdK5G8K4OKPOgNgB&bvm=bv.92189499,d.ZWU&psig=AFQjCNEpkN05hAd2tmI7nE-hhrCPVOhYYQ&ust=1430548847892367

14. Cutaneous
anthrax
Bacterial entry through skin
1-6d
Pruritic papulae
pustules
Ulcer
Coal black eschar
•Marked edema
•Lymphadenopathy
•Fever
•Swelling of surrounding tissues
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthrax#/media/File:Skin_
reaction_to_anthrax.jpg
http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=
http://www.slideshare.net/KayalVizhi9/a
nthrax-15259628

15. Gastrointestinal anthrax
•Initial signs: nausea
•Loss of appetite
•Vomiting blood
•Sever diarrhea
•Lesions & soreness in throat
•Difficulty swallowing
•Swelling of neck &lymph glands
•50% of all patients develop
meningitis
http://www.skinsight.com/atlas/anthrax.htm

16. Inhalation anthrax
 •Flu/cold like symptoms
•Cough
•Chest discomfort
•Shortness of breath
•Tiredness & muscle
aches
http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://www.riversideonline.com/sourc
e/images/image_popup/r7_anthraxinhale.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.riverside
online.com/health_reference/Infectious-
Disease/DS00422.cfm&h=400&w=400&tbnid=JHACd-
_c_803FM:&zoom=1&docid=VnrOhl9OE6rVGM&ei=JgtXVdHVLYOuygPLsI
DABw&tbm=isch&ved=0CIcBEDMoTzBP

17. Mediational widening with
inhalation anthrax
http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=https://edc2.healthtap.com/ht-
staging/user_answer/reference_image/2393/large/Anthrax.jpeg%253F1386669816&imgrefurl=https://www.healthtap.com/topics/i-am-in-the-military-and-i-worried-
about-the-anthrax-vaccine-is-it-
dangerous&h=284&w=343&tbnid=xXnEZbBOEnmiKM:&zoom=1&docid=Xf3uIQ32PwWALM&ei=S6hVVY3CGojdywPYkoH4Bg&tbm=isch&ved=0CGMQMyhAMEA

18. Examination
 cultural characteristics
o aerobes and facultative anaerobes
o 2-3 mm colonies
o edge like matted hair
o medusa head appearance
o Blood agar hemolytic colonies.
http://www.bacteriainphotos
.com/bacillus_anthracis.ht
ml

19. Gram stain morphology of B.
Anthrax
http://textbookofbacteriology.net/Anthrax.html
The cells have characteristic squared ends. The endospores are
ellipsoidal shaped and located centrally .

20. Selective medium
 PLET
Contains-
Polymyxins Lysosymes Ethylene dioxide Tetra acetic acid contains EDTA

21. BIOCHEMICAL REACTION
Gelatin-inverted fir tree appearance
Catalase - positive

22. ANTIBIOTICS FOR ANTHRAX
 Penicillin
 Erythrocin
 Tetracycline
 Chloramphenicol
 Occasional strains resistant to
penicillin are encountered

23. Antibiotic test for anthrax
 Antibiotic drugs (discs) being tested on anthrax
bacteria (Bacillus anthracis) colonies being
cultured on an agar growth medium in a Petri
dish. The exclusion zone around each disc
demonstrates the effectiveness of that antibiotic.
http://www.allposters.ie/-sp/Anthrax-Antibiotics-Research-posters_i10034927_.htm

24. Bio-terror attack preventive and
treatment procedures
 Antibiotics
 Antiviral
 Vaccines
 Passive immunization
 Immune enhancement and nutrition

25. REFERENCES
Websites referred
 http://www.theglobaljournals.com/ijar/file.php?val=October_2013_13807213
16_3ab9c_133.pdf
 http://www.immed.org/illness/bioterrorism.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthrax
 www.actionbioscience.org/genomics/salyersarticle.htm
Research papers referred
 Sharma, S. (2013) Microbiology with An Emphasis on Forensic
Applications. Indian journal of applied research.,3(10)
 Nicolsan, G. L. Bioterrorism and Biological Warfare Agents, The Institute
for Molecular Medicine Huntington Beach, California 92649, 2001.
 Adalja, A.A., Toner, E. and Inglesby, T.V. (2015) Clinical management of
potential bioterrorism- related conditions. The new England journal of
medicine.,372(10) 954-61.
 Nicholas, J.B., Dance D.A.B., Miller, A.R.O. and Spence, R.C. (2002) .
Biological warfare and bioterrorism. Rev medica;l microbiology (324 ) 336-
339.

26. Thanks