Bioterrorism: An Emerging Public Health Problem.

Abstract

Biological weapons have recently attracted the attention and the resources of the world. Discerning the nature of the threat of bioweapons as well as appropriate responses to them, requires greater attention to the biological characteristics of these instruments of war and terror. The dominant paradigm of a weapon as a device that explodes, leaves us illequipped conceptually and practically, to assess and thus to prevent the potentially devastating effects of bioterrorism. Strengthening the public health infrastructure, is an effective step toward averting the suffering that could be wrought by a terrorist's use of a biological agent [1]. Vulnerability to terrorist attack is the price that a free and democratic society has always had to pay. A terrorist is one, who aims to further his cause, by using tactics of intimidation and force, with the aim being to destabilize the existing government. Whilst prior preparation and planning are essential, more coherent, coordinated and centralised threat assessments are what is really required, to coordinate prevention and response strategies [2].