Download or read book The Threat of Bioterrorism in America written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Commerce. Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Threat of Bioterrorism and the Spread of Infectious Diseases written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Surveillance and Detection written by Barbara F. Bullock and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Perhaps the most frightening apparition of our times is the possibility that a biological agent (bacterim, virus, or toxin) will be used to attack our unprotected civilian population and inflict mass casualties. Until the Fall of 2001, anthrax attacks delivered through the mail to various U.S. senators, to the Governor of New York, and to various media offices, the previously expected use of a weapon of mass destruction against the United States has been a nuclear device that explodes or a chemical cloud that is set adrift. However, today, of all the weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, and biological), the biological weapons are the most feared by many defense experts but these are the ones that our country is least prepared to deal with Like the concept of a "nuclear winter," the potential destructiveness of a biological attack can come in many forms and is presently very hard to detect and control, and its results could be catastrophic. The unleashing of biological agents against an unprotected civilian population also, in some cases, constitutes the ultimate medical disaster with the capability to completely overwhelm the present health care system. Patients might go to health facilities in unprecedented numbers and demands for intensive care could well exceed available medical resources. Discerning the threat of bioweapons and appropriate responses to them are critical if we are to prevent the devastating effects of bioterrorism.

Download or read book Bracing for Armageddon written by William R. Clark and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-05-16 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since September 11th, the threat of a bioterrorist attack--massive, lethal, and unpreventable--has hung in the air over America. Bracing for Armageddon? offers a vividly written primer for the general reader, shedding light on the science behind potential bioterrorist attacks and revealing what could happen, what is likely to happen, and what almost certainly will not happen. The story opens with a riveting account of a bioterrorism scenario commissioned by the U.S. government. Using this doomsday tableau as a springboard, Clark reviews a host of bioterrorist threats (from agroterrorism to a poisoning of the water supply) and examines not only the worst-case menace of genetically engineered pathogens, but also the lethal agents on the CDC's official bioterrorism list, including Smallpox, Anthrax, Plague, Botulism, and Ebola. His overview of attempted bioterrorist attacks to date--such as the failed Aum Shinrikyo attempts in 1995 in Japan and the Anthrax attack in the US following 9/11--bolstered by interviews with a range of experts--shows why virtually all of these attempts have failed. Indeed, he demonstrates that a successful bioterrorism attack is exceedingly unlikely, while a major flu epidemic (such as the deadly epidemic of 1918 that killed millions worldwide) is a virtual certainty. Given the long odds of a bioterrorist attack, Clark asks, has the more than $40 billion the United States has dedicated to the defense against bioterrorism really been well spent? Is it time to move on to other priorities? In contrast to the alarmist fears stoked by the popular media, William Clark here provides a reassuring overview of what we really need to worry about--and what we don't.

Download or read book Effective Responses to the Threat of Bioterrorism written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Subcommittee on Public Health and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Federal Efforts to Address the Threat of Bioterrorism written by Frank Gottron and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-08 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The federal government¿s efforts to address the perceived threat of bioterrorism span many different agencies and are organized and directed through several strategy and planning documents. These agencies have implemented numerous disparate actions and programs in their statutory areas to address the threat. Despite these efforts, many experts, including congressional commissions, non-governmental org., and industry rep., have highlighted weaknesses or flaws in the federal government¿s biodefense activities. Contents of this report: (1) Introduction; (2) Strategic Planning; (3) Risk Assessment; (4) Biosurveillance; (5) Medical Countermeasures: R&D; Procurement; (6) Conclusion.

Download or read book Biological Threats and Terrorism written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-03-07 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wake of September 11th and recent anthrax events, our nation's bioterrorism response capability has become an imminent priority for policymakers, researchers, public health officials, academia, and the private sector. In a three-day workshop, convened by the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Emerging Infections, experts from each of these communities came together to identify, clarify, and prioritize the next steps that need to be taken in order to prepare and strengthen bioterrorism response capabilities. From the discussions, it became clear that of utmost urgency is the need to cast the issue of a response in an appropriate framework in order to attract the attention of Congress and the public in order to garner sufficient and sustainable support for such initiatives. No matter how the issue is cast, numerous workshop participants agreed that there are many gaps in the public health infrastructure and countermeasure capabilities that must be prioritized and addressed in order to assure a rapid and effective response to another bioterrorist attack.

Download or read book Biological Weapons the Threat Posed by Terrorists written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Agricultural Bioterrorism written by Henry S. Parker and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Countering Biological Threats written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-05-27 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In response to a request from the U.S. Congress, this book examines how the unique experience and extensive capabilities of the Department of Defense (DOD) can be extended to reduce the threat of bioterrorism within developing countries outside the former Soviet Union (FSU). During the past 12 years, DOD has invested $800 million in reducing the risk from bioterrorism with roots in the states of the FSU. The program's accomplishments are many fold. The risk of bioterrorism in other countries is too great for DOD not to be among the leaders in addressing threats beyond the FSU. Taking into account possible sensitivities about a U.S. military presence, DOD should engage interested governments in about ten developing countries outside the FSU in biological threat reduction programs during the next five years. Whenever possible, DOD should partner with other organizations that have well established humanitarian reputations in the countries of interest. For example, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization should be considered as potential partners.

Download or read book Assessing the Biological Weapons and Bioterrorism Threat written by Milton Leitenberg and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is nearly 15 years since biological weapons (BW) have become a significant national security preoccupation. The events of September 11, 2001, although not in any way related to BW, combined with the distribution of professionally prepared anthrax spores through the U.S. postal system in the weeks afterwards, magnified previous concerns by orders of magnitude.

Download or read book Assessing the Biological Weapons and Bioterrorism Threat written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bioterrorism and Biocrimes written by W. Seth Carus and published by The Minerva Group, Inc.. This book was released on 2002 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The working paper is divided into two main parts. The first part is a descriptive analysis of the illicit use of biological agents by criminals and terrorists. It draws on a series of case studies documented in the second part. The case studies describe every instance identifiable in open source materials in which a perpetrator used, acquired, or threatened to use a biological agent. While the inventory of cases is clearly incomplete, it provides an empirical basis for addressing a number of important questions relating to both biocrimes and bioterrorism. This material should enable policymakers concerned with bioterrorism to make more informed decisions. In the course of this project, the author has researched over 270 alleged cases involving biological agents. This includes all incidents found in open sources that allegedly occurred during the 20th Century. While the list is certainly not complete, it provides the most comprehensive existing unclassified coverage of instances of illicit use of biological agents.

Download or read book The Threat of Bioterrorism written by W. Seth Carus and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Assessing the Biological Weapons and Bioterrorism Threat written by Milton Leitenberg and published by . This book was released on 2005-12-30 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph is comprised of six substantive sections. An opening introductory section sets the global context in which the threat of "bioterrorism" should be placed. It briefly surveys other nonmilitary challenges to national and global security that the United States and other nations currently face, and will face in the coming decades. It does so, where possible, by including the mortality levels currently resulting from these factors, particularly natural disease agents, and the levels that can be projected for them. This provides a comparative framework within which bioterrorism can more properly be assessed. The second section, using U.S. Government sources, surveys the evolution of offensive state biological weapons programs. This demonstrates that official estimates of the number of such programs have diminished by between one fourth and one-third, from a peak of some 13 nations in mid-2001. What is known regardig any proliferation from these programs is also surveyed, as well as state assistance to nonstate actors. The third section surveys the evolution of the efforts by nonstate actors-terrorist groups-to obtain, develop, and use biological agents. The survey covers the entire 20th century, and up to the present day, focusing on the last 25 years. The efforts by the two groups which involved the most serious attempts to produce biological agents, the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo group between 1990-94 and the al-Qaida organization in Afghanistan between 1997-98 and December 2001, are reviewed in detail. Using information provided by declassified documents, as well as information from other sources, this section provides as detailed an examination as is available of the BW efforts of the al-Qaida organization. The Japanese Aum group did not succeed in obtaining virulent strains of pathogens, nor was it apparently capable of working successfully with the strains that it did have. The al-Qaida group also appears not to have been able to obtain pathogens, nor to have reached the stage of laboratory work by the time U.S. military forces occupied Afghanistan. As the most signifi cant examples available, these highlight all the more the unique character of the anthrax postal mailings in the fall of 2001 in the United States. The quality of the material that was distributed demonstrates the dangerous possibilities that could be achieved. However, until the perpetrator is identified, and unless it becomes possible to exclude any links with the U.S. bio-defense program, it remains impossible to assess the relevance of this event as an indicator of what might be expected from international terrorist organizations. The fourth section reviews the public portrayal of the BW threat by U.S. officials. It includes a review of official and unofficial exercise scenarios that have been carried out in the past half-dozen years, as well as recommended planning scenarios proposed by U.S. Government agencies. It includes a very detailed examination of several of these scenarios. Many of the exercises are predicated on the repeated use of the aerosolized pathogens which produce plague and smallpox. These pathogens are not easy to obtain, and they are relatively difficult to work with. Producing aerosolized formulations of them is far beyond the current or near-term capabilities of any identified international terrorist group. The fifth and final section discusses the impact of the U.S. biodefense research program on the possible future development of biological weapons. A significant issue is the interaction of constraints and limitations imposed by the terms of the Biological Weapons Convention, an international treaty which the U.S. Government was instrumental in bringing about, and the greatly expanded U.S. biodefense research program already in progress and set out in planning documents for the near future. The current lack of departmental and government-wide oversight over these programs is noted.

Download or read book Biological Weapons written by Joshua Lederberg and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: foreword by William S. Cohen, U.S. Secretary of Defense Biological weapons pose a horrifying and growing threat to the United States and to the world in general. Revelations about Iraq's weapons research and the plans of the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan serve as frightening reminders of the potential for military or terrorist use of biological agents. The essays in this book, many of which were originally published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, examine the medical, scientific, and political dimensions of limiting the threat posed by biological weapons. The contributors consider the current threat posed by biological weapons, the history of attempts to control them, episodes in which biological agents have been used, Iraq's biological warfare program, and policies that the United States might pursue to reduce the threat. Contributors Suzanne Barth, Pamela Berkowsky, Kristin A. Birkness, Stephen Black, W. Russell Byrne, W. Seth Carus, Marie Chevrier, George W. Christopher, Theodore J. Cieslak, Richard Danzig, Edward M. Eitzen, Jr., Charles C. Engel, James R. Ferguson, Laurence R. Foster, David R. Franz, Arthur M. Friedlander, Carol S. Fullerton, Jeanne Guillemin, Charles E. Haley, Harry C. Holloway, David L. Hoover, John M. Horan, Martin Hugh-Jones, Peter B. Jahrling, Robert P. Kadlec, Akiko Kimura, Shellie A. Kolavic, Alexander Langmuir, John R. Livengood, Karl Lowe, Steven Mauvais, David J. McClain, Matthew Meselson, Ann E. Norwood, Julie A. Pavlin, Graham S. Pearson, Ilona Popova, Alexis Shelokov, Jeffrey D. Simon, Shauna L. Simons, Michael R. Skeels, Laurence Slutsker, Robert Sokolow, Robert V. Tauxe, Thomas J. Török, Jonathan B. Tucker, Robert J. Ursano, Victor Utgoff, Ann M. Vrtis, Robert P. Wise, Olga Yampolskaya, Allan P. Zellicoff, Raymond A. Zilinskas

Download or read book Bioterrorism written by Selçuk Çankaya and published by IOS Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book summarises the lectures presented at the Centre of Excellence - Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) workshop on Bioterrorism of November 2008. The contributors are a diverse group of academics and practitioners, selected for their expertise in the field. Their contributions cover the definition and classification of bioterrorism and take account of its various dimensions, examining the theoretical, historical and practical aspects, as well as the defence against it. Consisting of seven papers and four summaries, the book covers subjects such as biodiversity, the historical use of biological agents and the concern for public safety, the role of the International Science & Technology Center in countering bioterrorism, the Global Forum on Biorisks, threat assessment, animal health and disease with reference to biological safety and the Biological Weapons Convention. The workshop itself was of necessity restricted to a small number of participants, but with this book, research, experience and perspectives on biological risks can be shared with a wider audience, allowing further consideration and improvements in countering risks and responding to biological threats and attacks. Inaugurated in 2005, COE-DAT is a NATO accredited Centre of Excellence; a unique centre dedicated to Defence Against Terrorism, which provides DAT training and education at strategic and operational levels and contributes to research efforts. IOS Press is an international science, technical and medical publisher of high-quality books for academics, scientists, and professionals in all fields. Some of the areas we publish in: -Biomedicine -Oncology -Artificial intelligence -Databases and information systems -Maritime engineering -Nanotechnology -Geoengineering -All aspects of physics -E-governance -E-commerce -The knowledge economy -Urban studies -Arms control -Understanding and responding to terrorism -Medical informatics -Computer Sciences