The Best Defense For a Bioterrorist Attack? Knowledge

Perhaps the best way we can prepare for a potential bioterrorist attack is to arm ourselves with knowledge and make ourselves aware of all the possibilities of and risks associated with bioterrorism. In some cases, when a person is exposed to a bioterrorism agent, the symptoms may not appear for sometime, which means that person could expose several other people to the agent without even realizing something was wrong with them. This makes the spread of a bioterrorist attack extremely difficult to predict and control. Websites such as www.osha.gov and www.bt.cdc.gov provide a copious amount of information about how to respond to a percieved bioterrorist attack. If you suspect you have been exposed to a bioterrorist agent, the best thing to do would be to call the Center for Disease Control and go into quarantine so as not to expose the hazard to others.

Bioterrorism: Past and Present

The first significant attack of bioterrorism in the United States occured in 1984 in a town called The Dalles in Oregon. In what eventually became known as the Rajneeshee Bioterror Attack, over 750 people suffered from food poisoning from salmonella that was intentionally put in salad bars in ten local restauraunts. The motive behind the attack was to incapacitate enough of the population so that they could not vote in the upcoming county election. This way the candidate the culprits supported would have a better chance of winning. More recently, in the year 2001, there was a series of anthrax attacks in the United States (symptoms of anthrax located in flowchart below). This resulted in the death of 5 people and 17 others were infected. The anthrax was mailed in envelopes to news media offices and 2 US senators. Bioterrorism is a truly terrifying thing because it is so mysterious and major damage can be done in a short amount of time and with minimal effort. As technology advances, so does the potential for new and unstoppable bioterrorism agents to be developed and released. These two accounts are probably the most well known bouts of bioterrorism in the United States today.

What is Bioterrorism?

According to the Center for Disease Control, a bioterrorism attack is "the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people animals or plants." However, this simple definition is insufficient in that it does not contain any information that would aid the general public in preparing for and responding to a possible bioterrrorism attack. How can we arm ourselves against such a threat? What are examples of bioterrorism that have already occurred here in the U.S. and around the world? These are questions I will attempt to answer in order to define the term "bioterrorism" more wholly.

Bioterrorism Flowchart

This flowchart shows examples of agents of bioterrorism and links them with their physical symptoms.