Surveillance of Bioterrorism Agents: Considerations for EM Laboratories

Abstract

Abstract Biowarfare was first documented in the eighteenth century during the French and Indian War when the British distributed smallpox-contaminated blankets to the American Indians. Smallpox is considered a likely agent even today because the USSR was known to have produced and stockpiled large amounts of the virus even after signing the 1972 treaty prohibiting such production. Because of the large number of workers involved and the poor economy, the security of these stockpiles is unclear [1, txtwriler.com/Backgrounders/Bioterrorism/bioterrar4.html]. Since the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, world attention has been drawn to terrorism and potential release of dangerous biological organisms. Considerable efforts are being made to establish methods for rapidly recognizing these agents. Numerous electron microscopy (EM) laboratories have been approached to join rapid response teams for the detection of viral agents. However, several issues should be carefully considered before an EM laboratory agrees to participate in surveillance.