Bio-terrorism could claim 3 crore lives, warns famous entrepreneur Bill Gates

Munich: The Syrian conflict, going on since the past six years, has claimed nearly four lakh lives and the situation in Syria has been a cause for concern all around the world. However, an even bigger crisis awaits the world, claimed Bill Gates, the founder of the world famous ‘Microsoft‘ corporation. Gates warned that terrorists could use biological weapons to claim the lives of 3 crore people in a single year. The world’s richest entrepreneur also claimed that terrorists could use the technology of genetic engineering for this purpose.

Leaders, officials, businessman and entrepreneurs from leading nations have been invited to the Munich Security Conference being held at Munich, Germany since the last few days. “Against the backdrop of this conference, Mr Bill Gates also informed regarding the threat terrorists pose to world security. He also warned that the effects of a possible biological attack could be several times more dangerous than that of an nuclear attack or climate catastrophe.

Mr. Gates also claimed that the terrorists had taken a lead in technology and other fields at the Munich conference. Thus, in the near future, terrorists could use genetic engineering to create smallpox, flu or even more contagious synthetic strain of viruses with the help of computers. Should the terrorists succeed in manufacturing such viruses, it could result in a great calamity. Bill Gates at the conference said that Epidemiologists claim an airborne pathogen could kill more than 3 crore people within a year . He also informed that there was a probability of such pathogens being spread all over the world in the next ten to fifteen years.

To explain this, Gates gave the instance of the outbreak of an epidemic disease about a hundred years back. The 1918 flu pandemic had caused five to ten crore deaths. It is difficult to say if the 100 year old pandemic was manmade. However, he warned that the calamities that would be faced in the near future, would be manmade. The link between international security and health security is ignored. At the conference, Gates criticised the Government agencies as being unsuccessful at identifying such threats.

If such attacks are ignored, the dire consequences of biological warfare may leave imprints at social and economic levels, claimed Gates. Advancement in biotechnology, new vaccines and drugs may help prevent the spread of epidemics. He also claimed that if there was a delay in responding to biological attacks or producing new vaccines, it could lead to damages worth billions of dollars. Gates appealed at the conference that preparedness against a biological attack should be made at the same level as for a nuclear war.