>>Viral infections, on the other hand, are highly contageous, but are not normally leathal<<<br><br>From what I've read about the Ebola virus, two forms of it are lethal in most people infected within a few weeks. I believe the Ebola Zaire variant has over a 90% fatality rate. It is highly contaigous through contact with bodily fluids, which are produced in abundance by the victums in the terminal phase of the infection (vomiting, bleading, etc). The disease can be transmitted even after the host is dead (through contact with bodily fluids or eating contaminated meat).<br><br>There is one form (Ebola Reston) that appears to be even more highly contaigous (it can be transmitted through breathing), but that form doesn't seem to be deadly to humans (thankfully). If a new form appears or can be developed that combines the high lethality of Ebola Zaire with the airborne contaigousness of Ebola Reston, deploying the virus would be trivially easy and the results could be catastrophic on a national or global level. <br><br>Let's hope that there isn't a boilogical lab somewhere funded by Osama bin Laden's fortune with a fanatical and demented genetic engineer working on this potential weapon.<br><br>