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Ricin: A Possible, Noninfectious Biological Weapon

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Bioterrorism and Infectious Agents: A New Dilemma for the 21st Century

Part of the book series: Emerging Infectious Diseases of the 21st Century ((EIDC))

Abstract

On September 7, 1978, 49-year-old Bulgarian exile named Georgi Markov was hit by an umbrella's tip while waiting in a bus station in London. The next day, he was admitted to a hospital in a severe condition, which rapidly deteriorated, terminating in his death 4 days later. A tiny pellet was removed from his thigh in autopsy. Based on the clinical course and on the pellet dimensions, it was concluded that Markov was assassinated using the poison ricin (Crompton and Gall, 1980; Franz and Jaax, 1997).

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Mrs. Sarah Efrati for her tremendous effort and assistance in information collection, and for being available around the clock.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps Headquarters, Israel

    Maor Maman MD & Yoav Yehezkelli MD

Authors
  1. Maor Maman MD
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  2. Yoav Yehezkelli MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Toronto, 30 Bond Street, Room 4179W, Toronto, ON, M5B 1W8, Canada

    I. W. Fong

  2. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, George Mason Universuty National Center for Biodefense, 10900 University Blvd., Manassas, VA, 20110, MS 1A8, USA

    Kenneth Alibek

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Maman, M., Yehezkelli, Y. (2009). Ricin: A Possible, Noninfectious Biological Weapon. In: Fong, I.W., Alibek, K. (eds) Bioterrorism and Infectious Agents: A New Dilemma for the 21st Century. Emerging Infectious Diseases of the 21st Century. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1266-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1266-4_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1265-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1266-4

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