Budowle Bruce, Harmon Rockne
FBI Laboratory, 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA 22135, USA.
Croat Med J. 2005 Aug;46(4):514-21.
The field of microbial forensics was formalized because of the need for attribution in events where a bioweapon has been used. Microbial forensics has its origins in traditional forensics, microbiology, and epidemiology. Microbial forensics can be defined as a scientific discipline dedicated to analyzing evidence for attribution purposes from a bioterrorism act, biocrime, hoax, or inadvertent microorganism/toxin release. This is a very challenging task, since there are myriad microorganisms that can pose a threat, and analytical methods need to be used reliably. The Scientific Working Group on Microbial Genetics and Forensics (SWGMGF) has addressed some quality assurance and control issues, and particularly validation criteria (focusing on preliminary validation) due to the dynamic nature of evolving investigations. Unique identification of a microorganism may never be possible. Yet, qualitative and/or quantitative assessments of the evidence can be made. One approach to provide direction on gaps in the microbial forensics effort is to perform an end-to-end retrospective analysis of past cases. As an example, the case of a gastroenterologist who was accused of second degree attempted murder of his paramour using HIV as the weapon was reviewed. The scientific evaluation involves epidemiology, molecular biology, phylogenetics, and legal deliberations.
由于在生物武器被使用的事件中需要进行溯源，微生物取证领域得以正式确立。微生物取证起源于传统取证、微生物学和流行病学。微生物取证可被定义为一门科学学科，致力于分析来自生物恐怖主义行为、生物犯罪、恶作剧或意外微生物/毒素释放的证据以进行溯源。这是一项极具挑战性的任务，因为有无数微生物可能构成威胁，且分析方法需要可靠地使用。微生物遗传学与取证科学工作组（SWGMGF）已经解决了一些质量保证和控制问题，特别是由于不断演变的调查的动态性质而制定的验证标准（侧重于初步验证）。对微生物进行独特鉴定可能永远无法实现。然而，可以对证据进行定性和/或定量评估。为微生物取证工作中的差距提供指导的一种方法是对过去的案例进行端到端的回顾性分析。例如，对一名胃肠病学家被指控使用艾滋病毒作为武器企图谋杀其情妇的二级谋杀案进行了审查。科学评估涉及流行病学、分子生物学、系统发育学和法律审议。
