US Biological Symbols

(5 August 2017)

Reference
Material

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The association of military symbols with etiological agents was considered SECRET information throughout the ABOUT
US biological weapons program. The list herein was compiled from various publically available historical and
archival documents.

The presence of a military symbol does not necessarily imply a biological proved suitable in biological weapons.
(e.g., ACTC Item 3124 listed a series of military symbols intended for laboratory use). With the exception of
biological simulants, the symbols herein are from 1944 through 1968.

The etiological agents are more-or-less broadly defined, though in some specific cases the strain or isolate is
included. Formulations are broadly divided as either wet-type, a concentrated liquid slurry, or as dry-type, a
freeze-dried milled powder. The United States designated wet-type formulations with a “1” (e.g., UL1), and dry-
type formulations with a “2” (e.g., UL2). There was also a “3” series, notably OU3, but of currently unknown
properties. N.B. – the actual agents of the biological weapons program represented a specific militarized strain
and recipe of formulation (including various protectants, adjuvants, and stabilizers) that is not reproducible
outside of the original program.

In 1968 the biological symbols were revised to reflect a new ontology, viz. a separate symbol for the etiological
agent and another for the formulations. This made the older system obsolete and thereby reasserted the security
associated with using military symbols. The authoritative reference on military biological symbols at the time
was AMCTC Item 6339. The common abbreviations used in medicine appear in parentheses.

Opinion: Since military symbols are symbols, and not abbreviations, in scholarly works the use of a distinct
type face from the text is warranted. In works on biological weapons, where etiological agents are engineered in
a formulation not seen in nature and disseminated to produce disease syndromes uncommon to public health
medicine, the preference is to use the military symbol over the common disease name. This is to avoid confu- CBRN Scholar Series
sion with medicine and emphasize the weapons technology.

The first use of a military symbol should be accompanied by definition: e.g., Anthrax (TR), and the wet slurry
of Anthrax (TR1). The 1968 ontology of biological symbols should be followed whenever possible, except when
inconsistent with preserving historical accuracy.

Contact Reid Kirby (rkirby@eximdyne.com) concerning information in this publication.

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Symbol Toxin Name
Alternate
Symbol
Laboratory
Symbol Antipersonnel
WA
XR
Ricin Toxin (RT)
Botulinum Toxin A (BTX or BoNT)
W
X
-
- Toxins
PG Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) UC -
TZ Saxitoxin (STX) SS JZ
- Tetrodotoxin (TTX) PP -
- Botulinum Toxin B - FJ
- Botulinum Toxin C - ID
- Botulinum Toxin D - IL
- Botulinum Toxin E - BK
- T2 Mycotoxin - T2

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 Alternate Laboratory
Symbol
TR
Biological Name
Anthrax
Wet-Type
TR1
Dry-Type
TR2
Symbol
N
Symbol
XQ Antipersonnel
SR
JT
Tularemia [Lethal schu S5]
Tularemia [Incapacitating 425]
TT
-
ZZ
-
UL
-
ZW
- Biologicals
LU Yellow Fever (YFV) - - OJ KZ
SI Psisticosis - - - RZ
LE Plague - - - WK
UY Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) - - RI -
LM Q Fever MN NT OU UB
FA Rift Valley Fever (RVF) - - - ZM
RR Chikungunya - - KG -
DK Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE) FX TD NU XD, LS
HO Cholera - - VO AX
AA Bovine Brucellosis - - A ZB
OZ Porcine Brucellosis NX - US, AB BH
AM Caprine Brucellosis - - - BX
Y Shigella Dysentery (Boyd Type 1) - - - XA
- Paratyphoid A - - - ZE
- Paratyphoid B - - - YF
LA Glanders - - - WY
HI Melioidosis - - - QS
OC
-
Coccidioidomycosis (Cash)
Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)
-
-
-
-
-
-
DJ, CI
ZX CBRN Scholar Series
ZL Smallpox (SPV) - - - -
YE Human Typhus - - - TZ
AN Japanese B Encephalitis - - - QP
ZQ O’nyong-nyon (ONN) - - - -
TQ Listeriosis - - - -
AV Murine Typhus - - - -
KS Rabies - - - KB
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- Western Equine Encephalitis (WEE) - - - EV
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 Alternate Laboratory
Symbol
-
Biological Name
Tuberculosis
Wet-Type
-
Dry-Type
-
Symbol
-
Symbol
ZP Antipersonnel
-
-
Diphtheria (gravis)
Typhoid
-
-
-
-
-
-
DX
ZO Biologicals
- Paracoccidioides brasiliensis - - - LB
- Blastomycosis - - - LL
- Cryptococcosis - - - PY
- Hystoplasmosis - - - OL
- Sporotrichosis - - - FJ, OY
- Scrub Typus - - - MH
- Influenza A - - - JY
- Influenza B - - - DE
- Polio (Type I) - - - RO
- Polio (Type II) - - - YB
- Polio (Type III) - - - MV
- Colorado Tick Fever - - - UA
- Shigella alkescens - - - HL
- Monkey B Virus - - - MB

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Symbol Biological Name
Alternate
Symbol Antipersonnel
-
UT
Aedes aegypti mosquito
Yellow Fever - Mosquito Combination
AP
OI, OJAP Agent-Vector

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Symbol Vaccine Name
Alternate
Symbol Antipersonnel
MO Aerogenic Tularemia Vaccine [LVS] -
Vaccines

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Symbol Biological Name
Alternate
Symbol
Laboratory
Symbol Antianimal
FD
R
Foot-and-Mouth (FMD)
Rinderpest
OO
GIR-1
-
ZS Biologicals
OE Fowl Plague - -
- Actinomyces bovis - SK
FW African Swine Fever - -
BV Bovine Diarrhea - -
OH Hog Cholera - -
NI Newcastle Disease - NK, NC
EK Vescular exanthema - SX,XM
ET Vescular stomatitis - SJ
- Foot-and-Mouth (Type A) - EB
- Foot-and-Mouth (Type O) - CJ
- Foot-and-Mouth (Type C) - CF
- Foot-and-Mouth (SAT I) - TV
- Foot-and-Mouth (SAT II) - OK
- Foot-and-Mouth (SAT III) - EK

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Symbol Biological Name Wet-Type Dry-Type
Alternate
Symbol
Laboratory
Symbol Antiplant
TX
SX
Wheat Rust
Rye Rust
TX1
-
TX2
- RX
- JQ
NX Biologicals
LX Rice Blast - - II, IR UJ
LO Potato Blight - - - HX
C Southern Blight - - - -
E Rice Brown Spot - - I -
IE Fusarium Head Blight - - - IA

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Symbol Simulant Name
Alternate
Symbol Biological
BS
SM
Bacillus subtillis var. niger (Bacillus globigii)
Serratia marcescens
BG, U
EA, P Simulants
AF Aspergillus fumigatus mutant C-2 AT
EC Escherichia coli -
EH Erwinia hebicola -
BT Bacillus thursidius -
FP Florescent Particle (Zinc Cadmium Sulfide) -
T Talc Powder -
- Yersinia pestis (avirulent) EV76
BE Bentonite BN
LS Red Lipstick -
LP Lycopodium spores -
T1 T1 Bacteriophage -
T3 E. coli Bacteriophage -
AC Vaccina virus -
BM Bacillus megaterium -

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Symbol Chemical Name
Alternate
Symbol Antiplant
LNA
LNB
2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid
2, 4, 5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid
LN8
LN14 Chemicals
LN32 Calcium-2-methyl-chlorophenoxyacetate -
LN33 Isopropyl N-phenyl Carbamate IPC
LNF Butyl 2-chloro-4-fluorophenoxyacetate -
KF 4-flourophenoxyacetic Acid -
CA Cacodylic Acid -
LNX 1:1 mixture of n-butyl esters LNA and LNB -
LNC Isopropyl 3-Chlorophenyl Carbamate -

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