Bioterrorism is a significant public health threat facing the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the event of a bioterrorist attack, the first line of defense will be the rapid identification of the biological agent so that exposure can be limited and those affected can be treated. Although it is impossible to predict all of the possible agents, the following information is provided as background for some of the more common or likely infectious diseases that could be encountered.
AnthraxAnthrax is an acute infection caused by a spore-forming bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax is most commonly found among wild and domestic cattle, sheep, goats, camels, antelopes, and other herbivores. However, humans can become infected with the disease when exposed to infected animals or their tissue. In addition, anthrax can be a potential threat to humans when used in biological warfare (a state in which infectious agents or toxic chemicals are being used as a weapon of mass destruction).
BotulismBotulism, a paralytic illness, is rare, but can cause serious, neurological symptoms and may be fatal. The disease is caused by a nerve toxin formed from a group of bacteria, called Clostridium botulinum, which are found in soil.
PlaguePlague is a serious infectious disease that is common in rodents but is also transmissible to humans through the bite of rodent fleas. Large worldwide epidemics have been recorded as early as the fourteenth century. Plague still occurs sporadically throughout the world.
SmallpoxSmallpox is a highly infectious viral disease caused by the variola virus, thta only occurs in human beings. Smallpox was common prior to and during the nineteenth century, but in 1977 the disease was eliminated from the world. In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared smallpox extinct and recommended that all countries cease vaccination. However, the virus is still maintained at laboratories at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US and at the Institute of Virus Preparations in Moscow, Russia.