[Methods of biological weapon threats detection]

Detection and identification of biological weapon agents are ones of more important elements of defence against biological weapon and bio-terrorism. So, the attack agent determination creates the chance of necessary prophylactic--medical and liquidation activities undertaking on time. Different systems of biological hazards detection are known. Among others, they allow to detect the biological agents presence in the air, execute the aerosol particles analysis, and are able to generate the alarm signal (LRBSDS, JBSDS, FLAPS). Some systems are able to detect biological agents presence, and moreover, to identify them (JPS, JBAIDS). Luminometric method possesses many advantages, from which the versatility of its usage at different attack scenarios, is getting to stay the most important one. A lot of attention is paid to identification problems, recently. Simple technologies, adjusted to field conditions, which give initial identification result within several minutes (immuno-chromatographic tests), have been developed. These tests, based on colloidal gold may be replaced with UCP particles, what influences positively for identification sensibility and specificity. Systems allowing to execute genetic tests in field conditions (RAPID) and biosensors, thank to which bacteria and their toxins, and viruses can be identified (RAPTOR) have occurred. Huge diagnostic possibilities are created by flow cytometry. Instrumental techniques, among which the mass spectrometry pays attention, are developed. Huge hope is connected to systems working on "chips", allowing, among others, to execute significant amount of analyses simultaneously. Thank to huge expenditures, paid for biological agents identification methods development, part of them, after positive laboratory and field practical tests, shall be introduced into the microbiological practice, staying the valuable contribution of fight against bio-terrorism.