A Perspective on BioterrorismBioterrorism is the intentional circulation of biological agents that take the form of bacteria, viruses, or toxins. (Bioterrorism Overview) In Dan Brown's Inferno, after Sienna describes the sequences of events that led to her admission to the hospital, Robert discovers a cylinder with a biohazard sign in his jacket, which he picks to call the “American consulate”. Under current U.S. law, "biological agents that have been declared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be likely to pose a serious threat to health and safety public are formally described as selected agents. " of which the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) classifies agents A, B or C and oversees the Select Agent program. (Clinical Management…)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Video Games violent should » An assault involving bioterrorism is the meditative release of toxins, bacteria, viruses or other harmful means, which have the capacity to cause death or disease in animals, plants or people. These means. attacks can occur in nature, but are usually modified or mutated to prevent drugs from curing them, to allow a more widespread attack or to ameliorate the pathological aspects caused by these bio-agents (Bioterrorism: Learn the definition…) . ability to travel through water, food or air Terrorists generally use biological agents due to their extreme difficulty of detection and the fact that they do not have an immediate effect on people (this. may take several hours to several days to create an effect). Like smallpox, some bioterrorism agents have the ability to travel from one individual to another, while others cannot, such as anthrax. (Bioterrorism Overview) Bioterrorism is an eye-catching weapon for terrorists because it can cause widespread fear and panic. The agents can be easily dispersed and are inexpensive and easy to obtain. Bioterrorism has some important limitations, according to military leaders who have used bioterrorism as a military asset. One cannot simply deploy a bioterrorist attack and simply kill the enemy; innocent people will also be injured or killed. Biological weapons are most useful to terrorists because they allow them to create widespread panic in a specific area. Technologists, however, have warned of the possible influence that genetic engineering could have on future bioterrorists, for example Bill Joy. (Bioterrorism Overview) “If human, they can use propaganda or other psychological or biological techniques to reduce the birth rate until the mass of humanity disappears, leaving the world to the elites. Or, if the elite are soft-hearted liberals, they might decide to act as good shepherds to the rest of the human race. (Joy) Anthrax, "a serious infectious disease caused by a rod-shaped, Gram-positive bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis" was routinely used against animals at the start of the First World War. This method of using anthrax against animals became ineffective, but Russia decided after World War I to launch a "sabotage campaign" in Romania, France and the United States. (Riedel) In 1915, Anton Dilger was assigned to investigate glanders in the United States, "an infectious disease primarily affecting horses, mules, and donkeys."(Bioterrorism: learn the definition…) In Chevy Chase, Maryland, Dilger set up a laboratory. He used dock workers to infect horses shipped to Britain with glanders. Dilger was not arrested, but was always suspected of bioterrorism, even though he was a German agent. Dilger ultimately died during the 1918 flu pandemic in Madrid, Spain. The Russians arrested another German agent who had similar goals to Dilger in 1916. (Riedel) “Germany and its allies infected French cavalry horses and many Russian mules and horses on the territory. ballast. These actions hampered artillery and troop movements, as well as supply convoys. (Biodefense and Bioterrorism…) Several cases of deliberate anthrax attacks occurred in the United States in September and October 2001. US Congress and media offices began receiving letters containing infectious anthrax. Similar means of attacks also took place at this time. The CDC categorizes agents (A, B, or C) and administers the Select Agent program, which regulates laboratories that may possess, use, or transfer select agents in the United States. . As with US attempts to categorize harmful recreational drugs, synthetic viruses are not yet categorized and avian H5N1 has been shown to achieve high mortality and human communication in the laboratory. (Biological warfare…) Category A agents create panic throughout national security, can spread easily, allow terrorists to gain a large amount of power, can create a significant health problem within a population and require more means of preparation in a period of crisis. For example, rabbit fever, or “tularemia,” can seriously harm the lives of many people, but its mortality rate is low due to available treatments. Also, anthrax, “a non-contagious disease caused by the spore-forming bacteria Bacillus anthracis.” Anthrax can actually be cured by vaccination, if detected early. (Bioterrorism: learn the definition…) Category B agents have low mortality rates but are easy to circulate. Like brucellosis, “a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat from infected animals or by close contact with their secretions.” (Bioterrorism Overview…) Category C agents are more accessible to terrorists but can be designed to be more destructive and spread more easily. Examples include Hantavirus, H1N1, HIV/AIDS, SARS, Nipah virus, etc. (Riedel) Biological agents are increasingly becoming a threat to the United States and laboratories are improving early detection devices to identify contaminated populations at risk and expedite care. . Large cities have priority over urban areas for early detection devices due to their larger populations. Other technologies are also being created to uncover the origins of the biological agent. (Clinical Management…) Phases of protecting the United States from bioterrorism include early detection response strategies to oppose bioterrorism, improving first responder equipment and capabilities, implementing of the generation 3 automated detection system and the BioShield project. Detection and resilience strategies are typically implemented within the Office of Health Affairs (OHA), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), whose responsibility is to protect the American people in times of crisis . THE…)