Bioterrorism

The October 2001 anthrax attacks in the U.S. resulted in five deaths, twenty-two infected individuals, several contaminated buildings, and a population in fear of exposure. The full health effects of these attacks are still unknown.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a bioterrorism attack as the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. These agents are typically found in nature, but it is possible that they could be changed to increase their ability to cause disease, make them resistant to current medicines, or to increase their ability to be spread into the environment. Biological agents can be spread through the air, through water, or in food. Terrorists may use biological agents because they can be extremely difficult to detect and do not cause illness for several hours to several days. Some bioterrorism agents, like the smallpox virus, can be spread from person to person and some, like anthrax, can not.

"The goal of terrorism is to create fear and anxiety and in so doing compromise social and political systems. Bioterrorism tries to accomplish this through creating illness or the fear of illness. Even if terrorists are not successful in creating illness, just the fear of serious illness creates very normal and expected stress reactions."

-D.C. Department of Mental Health-October 2001

The resources below contain current information on what organizations are doing to address and prepare for the threat of bioterrorism.

Resources:

Government

Department of Health and Human Services www.hhs.gov
Bioterrorism http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/manmadedisasters/bioterorism/index.html

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov
Bioterrorism http://www.bt.cdc.gov/bioterrorism/

National Institutes on Health (NIH) http://www.nih.gov/
Biodefense http://health.nih.gov/result.asp/72
 
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
Biodefense http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/biodefense/

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) http://www.ahrq.gov/
Public health preparedness includes tools, issue briefs, and reports on bioterrorism, community planning, mass casualty events, surge capacity and others.  http://www.ahrq.gov/prep/

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) www.fda.gov
Drug Preparedness and Response to Bioterrorism http://www.fda.gov/cder/drugprepare/default.htm

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) http://www.osha.gov/
Bioterrorism http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/bioterrorism/index.html
Biological Agents http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/biologicalagents/index.html

World Health Organization (WHO) http://www.who.int/en/
Preparedness for Deliberate Epidemics http://www.who.int/csr/delibepidemics/en/

Other

State Contacts

Public Health Preparedness Contacts
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) http://www.astho.org/index.php?template=regional_links.php

State Health Officials and Agencies http://www.statepublichealth.org/index.php?template=landing.php&section=officials

Infectious Disease Contacts: Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
http://www.cste.org/Epipointofcontact/epidisplayID.asp

Organizations

American Medical Association (AMA) http://www.ama-assn.org/
Bioterrorism FAQ http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/6667.html
Physician Resources http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/6215.html

American College of Physicians (ACP) http://www.acponline.org/
Bioterrorism http://www.acponline.org/bioterro/index.html

American Academy of Family Physicians http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home.html
Bioterrorism http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/safety/safety/710.html

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) http://www.aap.org/
Bioterrorism Q&A http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/anthraxqa.htm
 
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) http://www.idsociety.org/
Bioterrorism http://www.idsociety.org/Template.cfm?Section=Bioterrorism&Requesttimeout=600

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) http://www.cste.org/

Center for Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)/University of Minnesota http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/
Bioterrorism http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/bioprep/index.html

Center for Biosecurity/University of Pittsburg Medical Center
http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/
Agents and Diseases http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/website/focus/agents_diseases/index.html
Scenarios http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/website/events/2001_darkwinter/index.html
Leadership Guide http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/website/resources/leadership/index.html

US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) http://www.usamriid.army.mil
Resources for the Medical Management of Biological Casualties and Advanced Topics on Medical

Defense against Biological & Chemical Agents
http://www.usamriid.army.mil/education/instruct.htm

Trust for America’s Health www.tfah.org
Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism http://healthyamericans.org/reports/bioterror06/

Government Accountability Office (GAO) http://www.gao.gov/
Bioterrorism http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/keyword.php(search “bioterrorism”)