Historical analysis reveals an attempt to use yellow fever as a weapon during the Civil War, highlighting persistent issues in biological warfare strategies.
During the American Civil War, Dr Luke Blackburn plotted to unleash yellow fever across the United States. The plan collapsed due to a fundamental misunderstanding of yellow fever's pathogenesis. Blackburn's ambitious plot was an early example of the persistent failures seen in contemporary attempts at biological warfare by non-state actors.
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Turner et al. (2026) studied this question.
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