Antimicrobial Activity and Degradation Ability Study on Nanoparticle-Enriched Formulations Specially Designed for the Neutralization of Real and Simulated Biological and Chemical Warfare Agents

The present work reveals a comprehensive decontamination study on real and simulated biological and chemical warfare agents (BCWA). The emphasis was on evaluating the antimicrobial activity against real biological warfare agents, such as Bacillus anthracis, and also the capacity of neutralizing real chemical warfare agents, such as mustard gas or soman, by employing three different types of organic solutions enriched with ZnO, TiO2, and zeolite nanoparticles, specially designed for decontamination applications. The capacity of decontaminating BCWA was evaluated through specific investigation tools, including surface monitoring with the swabs method, minimum inhibitory (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) evaluations, time-kill tests for microorganisms, and GC-MS for monitoring chemical agents on different types of surfaces (glass, painted metal, rubber, and cotton butyl rubber). These tests revealed high decontamination factors for BCWA even after only 10 min, accomplishing the requirements imposed by NATO standards. At the completion of the decontamination process, the formulations reached 100% efficacy for Bacillus anthracis after 10–15 min, for soman after 20–30 min, and for mustard gas in an interval comprised between 5 and 24 h depending on the type of surface analyzed.

Mortality Rate of People Exposed to Mustard Gas During Iran-Iraq War in Sardasht, Iran: A 32 Years Retrospective Cohort Study

Background:Mustard gas is one of the mostwidely used chemical weapons in the past century.Howeverlittle information existsconcerning long-term mortality due to MG exposure. In this study we investigated mortality rate among civilian people exposed to mustard gas during Iran-Iraq war in sardasht in Iran after 32 years.Methods:In this retrospective cohort study, data related to all people exposed to mustard gas in sardasht in 1987 were extracted from the Veterans and Martyr Affair Foundation of Iran up to March 20, 2019. Mortality rate, cumulative mortality and standardized mortality ratio with 95 % confidence interval were calculated to explain mortality in the cohort and compare it with Iranian general population. Cox regression analysis used to indicatefactoraffected risk of death in the cohort. Results:Out of 1,203 exposed people at the beginning of the period, 148 people died by the end of the study, with an average age of 66.42 at the time of death. Total person-years of the people up to end of the study were 38198.63 and mortality rate was equal to 387 per 100,000 persons-years.Total number of observed deaths was less than expected death and theall-cause standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 0.680.Cause-specific SMR showed that observed death due to respiratory diseases was higher than expected (SMR: 1.75). The results of univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis showed that increasing age and having severe latecomplication in lungincrease risk of death among people in the cohort.Conclusion:In general, this result indicated that acute exposure to mustard gas, even without wearing protective clothing and masks, will not increase all-cause mortality after 32 years if accompanied by special and ongoing carefor those exposed.

Mortality Rate of People Exposed To Mustard Gas During Iran-Iraq War in Sardasht, Iran: A 32 Years Retrospective Cohort Study

Background:Mustard gas is one of the most widely used chemical weapons in the past century. However little information exists concerning long-term mortality due to mustard gas exposure. In this study we investigated mortality rate among civilian people exposed to mustard gas during Iran-Iraq war in sardasht in Iran after 32 years.Methods:In this retrospective cohort study, data related to all people exposed to mustard gas in sardasht in 1987 were extracted from the Veterans and Martyr Affair Foundation of Iran up to March 20, 2019. Mortality rate, cumulative mortality and standardized mortality ratio with 95 % confidence interval were calculated to explain mortality in the cohort and compare it with Iranian general population. Cox regression analysis used to indicate factor affected risk of death in the cohort. Results:Out of 1,203 exposed people at the beginning of the period, 148 people died by the end of the study, with an average age of 66.42 at the time of death. Total person-years of the people up to end of the study were 38198.63 and mortality rate was equal to 387 per 100,000 persons-years. Total number of observed deaths was less than expected death and the all-cause standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 0.680. Cause-specific SMR showed that observed death due to respiratory diseases was higher than expected (SMR: 1.75). The results of univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis showed that increasing age and having severe late complication in lung increase risk of death among people in the cohort. Conclusion:In general, this result indicated that acute exposure to mustard gas, even without wearing protective clothing and masks, will not increase all-cause mortality after 32 years if accompanied by special and ongoing care for those exposed.