Bioterrorism in America can we stop it and How

BIOTERRORISM IN AMERICA

Bioterrorism is a word that gained much attention in the United States of America and other developed countries during the recent years . Even though biological weapons were tried by different countries during World War II , the potential of these weapons in causing a mass destruction silently have made them the weapon for terrorist activities These `weapons of mass destruction ' can produce devastating results as they are powerful enough to eradicate people from a whole nation Intelligence reports reporting that extremist groups are planning to attack few developed countries

, have made these countries go on red alert many times . These countries have understood the need for strengthening their public health mechanisms and disease control organizations like CDC , and other defense mechanisms to avert the occurrence of a bioterrorism event . There is no universally accepted definition for bioterrorism . WHO (World Health Organization ) has defined bioterrorism as the use of biological agents in terrorism which includes the malevolent use of bacteria , toxins or viruses against people , plants and animals ADDIN EN .CITE WHO2007416WHO2007WHO Bioterrorism20077th AprilWebsitehttp /www .who .in t /s /bioterrorism /en (WHO , 2007

The looming threat of bioterrorism started haunting United States of America since 1998 ADDIN EN .CITE No-authors-listed199910No-a uthors-listed1999Bioterrorism alleging use of anthrax and interim guidelines for management--United States , 1998MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep48469-74Feb 7 Anthrax /etiology /prevention controlAnti-Bacterial Agents /therapeutic useAnti-Infective Agents /therapeutic use Bacillus anthracis Biological Warfare /prevention controlCalifornia Disaster Planning /standardsDoxycycline /therapeutic useFluoroquinolonesGuidelines Hazardous SubstancesHumansIndianaKentuckyPublic HealthTennesseeUnited States /epidemiology Violence /prevention control /statistics numerical datahttp /www .ncbi .nlm .nih .gov /entrez /query .f cgi ?cmd Retrieve db PubMed dopt Citation list_uids (No-authors-listed , 1999 . The initial biological threats were due to the spread of anthrax powder containing letters . On October 30th 1998 , three letters containing anthrax were sent to health clinics in Tennessee , Kentucky and Indiana states Similar reports of anthrax contaminated letters were obtained by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control ) till December 23 1998 . There were similar threats telephonically received at the public health agencies saying that ventilation systems of a few buildings were contaminated with anthrax . The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI ) started investigating these reports and threats and they found that these were all hoaxes . But later on , CDC surveillance team identified about 22 cases of anthrax in the same year , out of which majority of cases were from New Jersey Florida , New York city and District of Columbia . Out of these , 12 cases were having cutaneous anthrax and 10 cases were having confirmed inhalational anthrax . Majority of these patients were US postal department personnel who contracted this disease when these anthrax containing letters were sent through high-speed sorting machines handled or when opened ADDIN EN .CITE No-authors-listed200130No-a uthors-listed2001Update Investigation of bioterrorism-related anthrax and adverse events from antimicrobial prophylaxisMMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep5044973-6Nov 0 Anthrax /diagnosis /drug therapy /epidemiology /prevention controlAnti-Infective Agents adverse effects /therapeutic useAntibiotic Prophylaxis /adverse effects Bacillus anthracis BioterrorismCiprofloxaci n adverse effects /therapeutic useHumansMass Media Occupational Diseases /diagnosis /drug therapy /epidemiology /prevention control Occupational ExposurePostal ServicePublic Health Practice...