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Special Feature: Bacteria and crime

Would you have thought that there is a connection between bacteria and crime? In fact, there are several. Bacteria can be a weapon, the cause of violence, a tool to solve a crime, and even the subject of a crime.

Bacteria as lethal weapons

Sad but true, biological warfare with deadly bacteria is a real-life scenario. If you want detailed information on this subject, see our special feature file on bioterrorism. The 'favored' killer-bug is Bacillus anthracis, causative of Anthrax, followed by Yersinia pestis, causing bulbonic plague. One historical case was carried out with Salmonella. here is a limited selection of links on biological warfare with bacteria:

Risking biological warfare. An informative summary with web-based references (by C. Cox)
Bioterrorism as a Public Health threat (Source: CDC)
A well-balanced Overview of chemical and biological warfare (Source: LA Cole).

Committing a crime with bacteria

There has been a tragic case where a harmless product, tryptophan (an aminoacid sold as a food supplement) was brought on the market with an unknown toxic contaminant in the preparation. Several people died before the cause was identified. In this case the bacteria used to produce tryptophan were blamed (Source: PRAST), although the scientists who manipulated those bacteria are to blame: they had added genes to the bacteria to produce more tryptophan, and the intracellular concentrations reached such high levels that the compound started to react spontaneously with other cel material, leading to a deadly poisonous mixture. A lesson to take care with genetic modification, though the tragic could have been easily prevented by proper controls. In fact, The FBI is on the watch for illegal GMO's (genetically modified organisms) in foods (Source: Natural Law Party). Though mainly interested in modified crop plants, genetically modified bacteria may also be an interesting hunt.

Bacterial infections as a cause of violent acts

Some studies suggest that bacterial infections can lead to criminal behaviour.

Since Streptococci infections are linked to hyperactivity, and hyperactivity is linked to criminal behaviour, maybe antibiotics will one day be prescribed to convicts? (Source: Crime times). More about Strep-induced Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Source: Web4Health). Look at our species file on Streptococci for a more classical description of Strep infections.
A case exists, where a crime was committed by someone suffering from a late-stage Lyme disease, and the infection was blamed for the violent behavior. Whether true or not, Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, should better be treated at an early stage, to prevent suffering in or out of goal (Source: Crime times).

Bacteria as a forensic tool

Although not commonly used, bacteria present at the site of a crime can give important clues (source: WildNet Africa News Archive). For instance, bacteria on a body can reveal how long the body has been dead. Will microbiology be part of forensic science one day?

Bacteria as the subject of a crime

Bacteria can be the subject of a crime. Suppose a bacterium is patented, and this patent is broken: here is a criminal act. Natural bacteria can not be patented because they are living organisms. (Source: Cornell Law School). However, genetically modified bacteria can be protected with a patent. What is a patent? (Source: patent-it.com). How to deposit a patent for a microorgainsm? (Source: World Intellectual Property Organization). Modern-time Sherlock Holmeses need a microscope instead of a magnifying glass!

Bacteria are even at risk of being stolen. It is unusual, but here is a case of A robber stealing bacteria. Since they were potential lethal bacteria, it wasn't that innocent either (Source: BBC Online).

And finally, dealing with dirty money is a crime. But did you know it could also give you a bacterial infection? (source: ABC News).

The content of this page is copyright of the Virtual Museum of Bacteria and was written by Dr. T. M. Wassenaar (curator), with support of the Foundation for Bacteriology.
Special Feature files cover various aspects of bacteria, bacteriology, and bacterial diseases and were produced with support from

The Waksman Foundation for Microbiology.

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Page last modified: 08 Mar 2005

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