What is a nerve agent and which one was used in Amesbury and Salisbury’s poisonings?
NERVE agents are some of the most toxic substances on Earth – even tiny doses can prove lethal.
But how do the likes of VX and sarin work, and what are their devastating effects? Here is what you need to know — and the advice given out to those who might be affected.
What is a nerve agent and how do they work?
Nerve agents are a class of chemicals called organophosphates – meaning they contain phosphorous – that are extremely poisonous.
They attack the nervous system of the human body, which passes messages from the brain to other parts of the body, telling it what to do.
In order for those chemical messages to reach different parts of the body, they jump from one nerve to another.
Nerve agents interfere with those chemical messages, in such a way that just a short exposure will stop the messages being transmitted properly.
They do this by stopping the enzyme acetylcholinesterase functioning, which prevents muscles from relaxing.
Along with the potent VX, one of the best known nerve agents in existence in sarin, and its effects are terrifying.
It's one of the oldest nerve man-made agents and was originally produced as an insecticide in Germany in 1938.
However, it has gained notoriety through its use in warfare and was outlawed in 1997 by the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Nerve gas attacks in Syria have seen victims foaming at the mouth and suffering severe convulsions and searingly painful fits.
The highly toxic substance is lethal, even in the smallest of doses – and even more dangerous for children.
THE IMMEDIATE SIGNS A PERSON HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO SARIN GAS
Those exposed to a low or medium dose of sarin gas by breathing contaminated air, eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated water or touching a contaminated surface may experience symptoms within seconds, according to the Centers for disease Control and Prevention in the US (CDC).
In others it may take hours for symptoms to appear.
Those who have been exposed may experience:
- runny nose
- watery eyes
- small pupils
- eye pain
- blurred vision
- drooling and excessive sweating
- a cough
- tightness in the chest
- rapid breathing
- diarrhoea
- nausea and vomiting
- weeing more often
- confusion
- drowsiness
- weakness
- headache
- slow or fast heart rate
- low or high blood pressure
Exposure to larger amounts of the nerve agent can have much more harmful, if not fatal, effects.
People may experience:
- loss of consciousness
- convulsions
- paralysis
- respiratory failure leading to death
Who is Sergei Skripal?
Sergei Skripal was born on June 23, 1951.
He was a Russian officer who was convicted in 2006 of spying for the United Kingdom.
Skripal was accused by Russian prosecutors of working for MI6 in the late 1990s and passing secrets to the British using a James Bond-style spy rock.
At the time, he was serving in the Russian Ground Forces and was nicknamed "the Spy with the Louis Vuitton bag".
Skripal, 67, and daughter Yulia, 33, were struck down by a nerve agent attack in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on 4 March.
The pair were both admitted to hospital in a critical condition.
Yulia was discharged on April 10 after five weeks and taken away to a secure location.
Her father was discharged in May.
More than 115 Kremlin diplomats have since been expelled from Western countries in solidarity with Britain.
Russia has denied involvement in the attack — the first use of a chemical weapon in Europe since World War II.
State media is fanatically loyal to President Vladimir Putin and has put forward harebrained theories like suggesting criminals somehow got hold of the Russian-made novichok agent to target the Skripals.
Scotland Yard said they believed a two-man hit team led the Salisbury attack.
On September 5 police released names and photos of two Russian men wanted over the attempted hit on the Skripals.
Cops issued a European Arrest Warrant for Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.
And the CPS said there was enough evidence to charge them with conspiracy to murder.
Theresa May revealed the suspects were members of the Russian military intelligence service GRU - Mr Skripal's old agency - and were not acting on a "rogue operation".
On September 12, Putin said Russia had found the men suspected of carrying out the poisoning but described them as "civilians" and claimed they had nothing to do with the attack.
The two men claimed they were just tourists visiting Stonehenge and Salisbury in an interview with the state-run TV station RT on September 13.
The pair said: "Our friends had been telling us for some time we should visit this extraordinary town."
Claiming to be interested in the history of the local area, the pair praised Salisbury Cathedral for its "123-metre spire and its clock, one of the first ever created in the world that's still working".
Boshirov rejected claims they handled nerve agent Novichok or the perfume bottle it was allegedly carried in.
Laughing, he said: "No, that's complete bulls***."
Boshirov continued: “Isn't it silly for decent lads to have women’s perfume?
“The customs are checking everything, they would have questions as to why men have women’s perfume in their luggage. We didn’t have it.”
In July, Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess both fell critically ill in Amesbury, Wiltshire, which is around eight miles from Salisbury after being exposed to the same nerve agent.
But mum-of-three Dawn, 44, died one week after being exposed to the deadly nerve agent while Charlie later woke from his coma and was discharged from the hospital on July 20.
MORE ON THE RUSSIAN SPY POISONING
What advice is there for those affected?
Hundreds of other people may have been exposed to the nerve agent as the Skripals travelled through Salisbury.
Forensics detectives said the likeliest point that the pair were exposed to the novihok was on their front door.
It means they likely had the substance on their hands and transferred it throughout Salisbury as they visited a pub and an Italian restaurant that day.
The hero cop who was first on the scene Srg Nick Bailey was left critically ill but made a miracle recovery.
Other Salisbury residents were advised to take action to protect themselves.
Anyone who visited the pub or restaurant the pair visited were told to wash their clothes immediately and clean all jewellery, mobile phones, glasses and other items with antiseptic wipes.
They should also wash their hands after cleaning any items, experts said.
Staff at Zizzi’s restaurant were told to destroy any clothes they had been wearing at the time and to visit their doctor for a health check.
Drinkers in the Mill pub were urged to take similar steps.
England's chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, estimated that around 500 people could have been affected in the time window.
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