The use of biological weapons was banned in 1972 by the Convention on the Prohibition of the Deployment, Production, and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons (1). Caches of biological weapons still exist, however, and their illegal use in military operations cannot be discounted entirely (2). The threat of biological warfare seems remote to industrialized nations, which have enjoyed decades of peace and prosperity. In contrast, the threat of bioterrorism, in which biological agents are used by extremists as weapons against civilian populations, generates considerable anxiety. Although the likelihood of a bioterrorist attack is difficult to predict, the consequences of a successful attack could be devastating and cannot be ignored. Unlike attacks involving conventional or even chemical weapons, which could be readily detected and limited to a specific geographic area, an attack with a biological agent (and the resulting symptoms of exposed persons) could remain undetected for days, would be widely scattered, and depending on the etiologic agent, might not be identified immediately as a manmade event. Secondary cases would confound epidemiologic investigations as well
展开▼
