Many biological agents normally have one or more features that limit their effectiveness as a biological weapon. "Weaponizing" a biological agent refers to modifying an agent to make it more lethal.
Features that may indicate a weaponized biological warfare agent:
(1) production by a country specializing in biological warfare
(2) resistance to all known therapeutic agents
(3) ability to infect the majority of vaccinated persons
(4) modification to enhance dispersal, especially as an aerosol
(5) enhanced or unexpected toxin production
(6) stabilized for persistence in the environment (resistance to desiccation, etc.)
Examples:
(1) "dry" forms of anthrax spores
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