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AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW OF DETECTION AND MONITORING TECHNIQUES OF BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS | ΑΝΑΣΚΟΠΗΣΗ ΜΕΘΟΔΩΝ-ΤΕΧΝΙΚΩΝ ΑΝΙΧΝΕΥΣΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΡΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΗΣΗΣ ΠΑΡΑΓΟΝΤΩΝ ΒΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟΥ ΠΟΛΕΜΟΥ HΥGEIA@ERGΑΣIΑ SCIENTIFIC EDITION OF HELLENIC SOCIETY OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE ( ISSN 1792-4731)

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(ENG):The possible use of Biological Warfare Agents (BWAs) causes fear and anxiety among people and disrupts the functioning of the Economy, Society, and Administration. Biological Warfare is the deliberate use of pathogenic strains of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, or their toxins to spread life-threatening diseases on a large scale. Early detection of BWAs is highly important for the timely management of any biological attack, whether intentional or natural. The symptoms of biological infection in the population can occur in hours, days, or even weeks. It is very difficult to distinguish these symptoms from infections from more benign and common biological factors. Biological defense includes the methods, plans, and procedures involved in defining and executing defensive measures (detection, protection, disinfection, and medical management) against biological attack. Many countries are making efforts to develop systems and new technologies for the early detection of BWAs. To date, there is no single system that can detect all the bio-threats agents. Despite the availability of many biology techniques and tools, there is no complete proof system for detecting/identifying all BWAs. In the present review, we describe the currently available techniques and systems for locating and identifying these biological warfare agents. The basic identification techniques are presented which include organic culture, immunological methods, nucleic acid-based detection, cellular fatty acid profile, flow cytometry detection, and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS). Detection of BWAs with biosensors, biological detectors, surface plasmon resonance, and stand-off detection (standoff detection can detect a biological warfare agent remotely without sampling) is also summarized. (EL):Η απειλή από Βιολογικούς Παράγοντες Πολέμου (Biological Warfare Agents: BWAs) έχει αναδειχθεί ως μία υψηλής πιθανότητας πρόκληση εθνικής και παγκόσμιας ασφάλειας λόγω της απλής και φθηνής παραγωγής τους, της εύκολης διασποράς, της περίπλοκης ανίχνευσης, της ακριβής προστασίας και του ψυχολογικού, οικονομικού και κοινωνικού αντικτύπου. Η έγκαιρη ανίχνευση και ταυτοποίηση των BWAs κατά τη διάρκεια Χημικών-Βιολογικών-Ραδιολογικών-Πυρηνικών συμβάντων είναι απαραίτητη για την έναρξη διορθωτικών ενεργειών έκτακτης ανάγκης για τη διαχείριση τέτοιων συμβάντων. Καταβάλλονται προσπάθειες σε όλο τον κόσμο για την ανάπτυξη προηγμένων τεχνολογιών και συστημάτων για την ανίχνευση και αναγνώριση των BWAs. Ωστόσο, μέχρι σήμερα δεν υπάρχει ενιαίο σύστημα που να μπορεί να ανιχνεύσει όλους τους παράγοντες βιο-απειλής. Σε αυτή την ανασκόπηση, περιγράφονται οι τρέχουσες διαθέσιμες τεχνικές και συστήματα για τον εντοπισμό και την ταυτοποίηση αυτών των παραγόντων. Παρουσιάζονται οι βασικές τεχνικές ταυτοποίησης που περιλαμβάνουν βιολογική καλλιέργεια, ανοσολογικές μεθόδους, ανίχνευση με βάση νουκλεϊκό οξύ, μήτρα υποβοήθησης λέιζερ εκρόφησης/ιονισμού με φασματομετρίας μάζας χρόνου πτήσης (MALDI-TOF MS), προφίλ κυτταρικού λιπαρού οξέος και ανίχνευση με βάση την κυτταρομετρία ροής. Συνοψίζεται επίσης η ανίχνευση BWAs με βιοαισθητήρες, συντονισμό επιφανειακού πλασμονίου, βιολογικοί ανιχνευτές και συστήματα ανίχνευσης stand-off. Ωστόσο, παρά τη διαθεσιμότητα πολλών τεχνικών και εργαλείων, δεν υπάρχει πλήρες σύστημα απόδειξης για ανίχνευση / αναγνώριση όλων των BWA.
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