Virus bombs
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Virus Bombs are potent weapons of mass destruction, and were commonly used to carry out Exterminatus in pre-Heresy times. In this role they have largely been superceded by Cyclonic Torpedoes, however Virus Bombs are still retained by some Imperial arsenals.
They contain a virus deadly enough to kill all life in a certain region, and if enough bombs are dropped the entire planet could be sterilized. These are only used in the most dire of situations as it takes time for the virus to die down and kills off all the life in the planet, removing the potential work force.
Heavy saturation of viral warheads will cause a rapid breakdown of all organic matter on a global scale, releasing tremendous amounts of gas and creating an apocalyptic planet scouring firestorm. The gasses build in the atmosphere and are ignited by a volley of weapons fire from an orbiting ship.
Virus bombs were used on Armageddon during the Second War for Armageddon. Von Strab had a secret stash of them, put there by his family when the planet was colonized. They wreaked a terrible havoc on the invading Orks but had lost their potency over time and did not have exactly the desired effect. The virus also has a tendency to blow with the winds, and during the Armageddon deployment, it washed back over the defending Imperial Guard, killing as many defenders as attackers.
Virus bombs were also used on Isstvan III at the start of the Horus Heresy by Horus to bomb the Space Marines who remained loyal to the Emperor.1
The life-eater virus, as used on Isstvan III, is made of micro-organisms that rot and break down flesh and bone with ease, reducing it to sludge. Each micro organism requires a living host to survive, as it can only survive for a few moments outside of a host, and can jump from different species. The life-eater virus can penetrate power armour and rebreathers.
