Bioterrorism: responding to an emerging threat

Only a few years ago bioterrorism was considered a remote concern but few today are complacent about the possibility of biological agents being intentionally used to cause widespread panic, disruption, disease and death. By its very nature, the biological weapons threat – with its close links to naturally occurring infectious agents and disease – requires a different paradigm than that for conventional terrorism, military strikes or attacks caused by other weapons of mass destruction. This evolving threat presents the medical, public health and scientific communities (importantly including biotechnology) with a set of difficult and pressing challenges. This article provides a brief overview of the threat from biological weapons, the nature of a bioterrorist attack and some of the issues that need to be addressed if we are to make meaningful progress to prevent or contain this disturbing and potentially catastrophic danger.