Definitions for biological agent
bi·o·log·i·cal agent

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 3 votes

1. biological agent, biohazardnoun

   any bacterium or virus or toxin that could be used in biological warfare

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Biological agent

   A biological agent (also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon) is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, fungus, or toxin that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterrorism or biological warfare (BW). In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kinds of potentially weaponizable bio-agents have been described and studied to date. Biological agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, including serious injury, as well as serious or permanent disability or even death. Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in the natural environment where they are found in water, soil, plants, or animals. Bio-agents may be amenable to "weaponization" to render them easier to deploy or disseminate. Genetic modification may enhance their incapacitating or lethal properties, or render them impervious to conventional treatments or preventives. Since many bio-agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for propagation, they are also a potential danger in a wide variety of occupational settings.The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is an international treaty banning the development, use or stockpiling of biological weapons; as of March 2021, there were 183 States Parties to the BWC. Bio-agents are, however, widely studied for both defensive and medical research purposes under various biosafety levels and within biocontainment facilities throughout the world.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. biological agent

   A biological agent, or bio-agent, is any bacterium, virus, protozoa, fungus, or other microorganism that can be used purposefully to harm or kill humans, animals or plants. These agents can contribute to disease, infection, or even death and can be found naturally in the environment or artificially produced for use in biotechnology, biological warfare or bioterrorism. They can be spread through the air, water, or in food and under specific conditions can multiply and spread rapidly.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Biological agent

   A biological agent — also called bio-agent or biological threat agent — is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, or fungus that can be used purposefully as a biological weapon in bioterrorism or biological warfare. In addition to these living and/or replicating pathogens, biological toxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kinds of potentially weaponizable bio-agents have been described and studied to date. Biological agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, including death. Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in the natural environment where they are found in water, soil, plants, or animals. Bio-agents may be amenable to "weaponization" to render them easier to deploy or disseminate. Genetic modification may enhance their incapacitating or lethal properties, or render them impervious to conventional treatments or preventives. Since many bio-agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for propagation, they are also a potential danger in a wide variety of occupational settings. The Biological Weapons Convention is an international treaty banning the use or stockpiling of bio-agents; it currently has 165 state signatories. Bio-agents are, however, widely studied for defensive purposes under various biosafety levels and within biocontainment facilities throughout the world. In 2008, according to a U.S. Congressional Research Service report, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Taiwan were considered, with varying degrees of certainty, to be maintaining bio-agents in an offensive BW program capacity.

Dictionary of Military and Associated TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. biological agent

   A microorganism that causes disease in personnel, plants, or animals or causes the deterioration of materiel. See also biological weapon; chemical agent.

Matched Categories

1. • Agent

How to pronounce biological agent?

1. Alex

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How to say biological agent in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of biological agent in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of biological agent in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of biological agent in a Sentence

1. Tener Goodwin Veenema:

   There are various levels of protection health care providers must have when they are dealing with potentially fatal diseases. Not just Ebola, but small pox or anthrax or any Category A biological agent, and the health care providers must be properly trained in how to 'don and doff' personal protective equipment.

2. Ashish Jha:

   If we made IP available today, we will not add vaccines today. It's about tech transfer, knowledge of making vaccines. This is really about a complex biological agent. It's not clear to me that George Mason University.The moment India has a lot of unused vaccine capacity. The issue is building new capacity.

3. General Nagata:

   The US counterterrorism community has long held that the use of a biological agent of some kind for a major terrorist attack is not a matter of if, but when, the likelihood of a future terrorist using a highly potent, clandestinely produced, difficult to detect/identify/track, easily transportable and dispersible, and quite lethal biological weapon is rising significantly.

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=biological agent
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_Agent
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=biological agent
5. ^ Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
   https://www.tradoc.army.mil/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AD1029823-DOD-Dictionary-of-Military-and-Associated-Terms-2017.pdf