Bioterrorism: A threat for which we are ill prepared

Of the weapons of mass destruction, the biological ones are the most feared and bioterrorism has become one of the most vicious threats to civilized s ociety in recent times. Biological weapons have been sporadically used for centuries. Despite international regulations, there has been a global re-em ergence of the threat of biological warfare. As many as 17 countries are su spected of either including or developing biological agents in their weapon s programmes. In the past decade, a number of terrorist organizations with access to bioweapons technology have emerged. Current surveillance systems may be inadequate to detect biological attacks. The onset of illness is oft en delayed, thus the timing and location of such an event may be extremely difficult to Identify. We are unfamiliar with most of the agents of biologi cal warfare and are ill-equipped to handle the consequences of such an atta ck. In addition, there is no apparent coherent policy to handle a biologica l terrorist incident. Given the enormity of what is possible in the event o f a biological attack; we must be prepared to detect, diagnose, epidemiolog ically characterize and respond appropriately to biological weapons. Of the potential biological weapons, smallpox and anthrax pose the greatest threa ts.