BIOTERRORISM: Definition and resources

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.govBioterrorism http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/manmadedisasters/bioterorism/index.html
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.govBioterrorism 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.govDrug 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.htmlBiological 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 ContactsThe 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 Epidemiologistshttp://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.htmlPhysician 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.htmlBioterrorism 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 Centerhttp://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/Agents and Diseases http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/website/focus/agents_diseases/index.htmlScenarios http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/website/events/2001_darkwinter/index.htmlLeadership Guide http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/website/resources/leadership/index.html
US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) http://www.usamriid.army.milResources for the Medical Management of Biological Casualties and Advanced Topics on Medical
Defense against Biological & Chemical Agentshttp://www.usamriid.army.mil/education/instruct.htm
Trust for America’s Health www.tfah.orgReady 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”)
http://ahip.org/content/default.aspx?bc=38%7C65%7C20358%7C20367