The French Biological Weapons Program - Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945 - page 125

1964 by the LMRV, in particular Erysipelothrix insidiosa, Listeria monocyto-
genes, Bacillus cereus, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella
enteritidis; then, in 1966, it studied certain viruses that could be used as
incapacitants (adenovirus types 1, 3, and 5, coxsackie virus A21, and in-
fluenza virus APR8). 56 The SGTEB concluded that studies on enterotoxin
and incapacitants should be carried out by the LMRV. The CRSSA micro-
biology lab would be responsible for studying complications involving
diphtheria toxoid and tuberculin in the context of complications resulting
from mass vaccination.
The study of vectors and of dispersion of simulants was to be carried
out on a theoretical basis by the CEB in 1964. To this end, the CEB trans-
ferred to biological experimentation all the technical resources originally
financed as part of the chemical weapons (CW) program. Thus the dis-
persion division, which had all the necessary apparatus and gas chambers
of different volumes (15-30 cubic meters), was asked to carry out studies
on aerosol generation. It was also decided that work done jointly by the
dispersion and bacteriological services on methods of dispersion should
begin again. Before 1958 this collaboration had furthered the develop-
ment of various BW. Regarding the choice of carriers, CEB technicians
felt that as far as toxins and bacteria were concerned, problems could be
swiftly resolved, since work had been done and was still under way at
the CEB. However, for viruses and rickettsias, an arthropod carrier was
required, which in turn necessitated a breeding program. Experiments
would have to take place initially in an enclosed space, then outside
(which meant finding and managing a space in which real agents could
be studied, which would then have to be decontaminated). 57
The various agencies responsible for BW studies over the period 1962-
1965 focused on the following.
Centre d'Etudes du Bouchet at Vert-Le-Petit:
• Contamination of soil and aerosol dissemination: trials on poisoning by
aerosol delivery of purified botulinum toxin (100 percent of mice ex-
posed were dead within 12 hours), discovery of minimum active dose
according to terrain (animals) and form of the agent (raw, purified, and
lyophilized toxin) on healthy or partially poisoned animals.
• Preservation of toxins by lyophilization: results were encouraging, help-
ing to preserve the vitality and virulence of the toxins.