2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Biological Threats

The first major bioterror event in the United States--the anthrax attacks in October 2001--was a clarion call for scientists who work with "hot" agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations against biological weapons. In The Demon in the Freezer, his first nonfiction book since The Hot Zone, a #1 New York Times bestseller, Richard Preston takes us into the heart of Usamriid, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland, once the headquarters of the U.S. biological weapons program and now the epicenter of national biodefense.

“Bioterrorism remains a major threat for the United States despite more than $65 billion spent on protecting the country from myriad dangers, the Bipartisan WMD Terrorism Research Center said in its latest report Wednesday. The center's Bio-Response Report Card evaluated U.S. preparedness for countering threats from bioterrorism and found the country remains vulnerable to multiple threats and "largely unprepared for a large-scale bioterrorist attack."”(UPI.com, 2011). There have been over a dozen leading U.S. bio-defense experts that have taken part in figuring out where we are exactly as a county and what the effects of a terroristic attack

The Department of Homeland Securities 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) identifies six prevailing strategic challenges for the United States for the next several years. Those challenges are; the threat of terrorism, cyber threats, transnational criminal organizations, natural hazards, nuclear terrorism, and biological concerns. These threats represent challenges not only for the local communities, but the nation as a whole. There are a number of ways for states, local communities, and tribal organizations to prioritize and assess the greatest risks applicable to them, and the means in which to implement mitigating measures to reduce the risk from identified threats and hazards.

The US right now is taking military and counterterrorism actions, but it is not enough to stop them. Bioterrorism is harder to stop because you won't know whether it is a deliberate outbreak by terrorist group or a natural outbreak of disease (Okoth 2). Bio Attacks are not only deadly to people but also the environment according to Naftali Okoth “dual threats of emerging infections and bioterrorism would pose a major conceptual and technical challenges for a regions intelligence

Bioterrorism can easily target citizens by poisoning food and water supplies. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration a.k.a. OSHA stated that there’s over 250 different foodborne diseases and illnesses, and are often mislabeled as food poisoning. These diseases can be potentially fatal to those inflicted. In the article “A Discussion of Findings and Their Possible Implications from a Workshop on Bioterrorism Threat Assessment and Risk Management”, Bruce Hope states that it’s possible to analyze the agricultural and food industries by making fake scenarios of potential threats. This analysis of America’s system can allow for professionals to better secure food supplies and ensure that bioterrorism is less likely of impacting the population. Defense measures can make these buildings invulnerable, or nearly so (Zilinskas, 906). Another method of defense against bioterrorism is vaccination. According to Rebecca Katz in “Public Health Preparedness: The Best Defense Against Biological Weapons” she argues that vaccination is a plausible method of defense against bioterrorism if necessary. She also states “[vaccines] are part of a preattack defense and a postattack containment” (Katz, 177). These vaccinations can aid people in case of smallpox and anthrax, both of which are viable threats to biosecurity. The article also states that while more research is necessary to improve the currently available vaccines, it’s a necessary component of preparing for bioterrorism. Katz states “In order to avoid chaos during an event, development and dissemination prior to an attack of vaccine priority and distribution plans is essential. These plans should incorporate the best methods for controlling the spread of disease, saving the most lives, and ensuring the utility of

Agroterrorism is a substantial threat to the United States economy and agricultural sector. As Olsen (2012), mentions, the U.S. agricultural sector is extremely vulnerable to attack and an attack has already been considered by Al Qaeda. The two biggest potential effects of an agroterror attack would be fear and economic stress.

Our economy would suffer dearly, along with the individuals affected if this type of attack were to be successful, due to agriculture being such a valued export and is a trillion dollar a year industry. This makes this long shot

A death by a biological agent is not a quick one; in most instances it is a slow and very painful death. A fear such a death would definitely incite panic, making it much more difficult for rescue crews and medical personnel to respond, causing the problem to grow out of control (Eitzen 445) With nuclear terrorism, most deaths are immediate due to the sheer force of the explosion of a bomb. This may be startling to think about but death would be swift with possibly very little suffering if any at all. Another possible effect of bioterrorism is the possible lowering of one’s immune system due to lack of sleep caused by fear or by sickness itself, therefore making the disease much harder to fight off. Nuclear terrorism is archaic and unlikely yet it is still in the public eye so often we no longer realize it, yet Bioterrorism is hardly ever mentioned and it much more likely a dirty bomb going off in the middle of a city is not as likely as a weaponized strain of ebola being realeased into the air in this day and age. The inexpensiveness of production, easy distribution and mental toll Bioterrorism takes; it is a very real and very potent threat to our society as a whole. And it is high time it was recognized as

A terror attack with a biological agent to our cereal crops, namely wheat, would be more harmful than spreading Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) aka Mad Cow Disease among our cattle herds. Here again, risk mitigation and prioritizing must play a part in our country's strategy of protection. The risk would naturally be high that a biological agent released among the US wheat crops, may spread beyond our borders. When foodstuffs are targeted, a terror group would likely loose coveted support as their supporters grow hungry. I believe for that reason, terrorists would likely avoid the cereal crops, and if agroterrorism is employed, it would targeted to a more specific agricultural area. It is nice to know that the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is there just in case, but to reintroduce a viable crop to consummation levels would require years and huge

The first characteristic of our agricultural and food industries that specifically makes us venerable to an attack would be how we, as a nation grows and raises our food. The modern cattle farm for instance is not a small group of cows grazing on a hill in a wide-open field. These cattle are packed into a small area, often surrounded by hundreds of other cattle. This make it very easy for a pathogen to move from one host to another; if one cow gets sick, many will get sick. Additionally to improve the yield gained from each cow, ranchers often employ genetics to rid their herd of unwanted traits or genetic trends. This also makes it easy for a virus to jump from one host to the next, as the cattle are virtually the same on a genetic level.

Bioterrorism is a deliberate release of viruses in the enemy’s territory to cause terror in a community and make the people lose faith in their government. People have been doing this for a long time, people used to just hurl barrels of poisonous snakes at their enemies and they would also send dead bodies that have died from diseases and hope that it would spread, but now it is much more advanced. Scientists fear that enemies will be able to weaponize diseases such as smallpox and Ebola to use against us and since they usually mutate the diseases they will likely be even more deadly and more likely to kill more people. I feel that no one, not even America, should use diseases to get ahead in the war.

According to this week lesson notes, agroterrorism is “an intentional introduction of a plant or animal disease with the purpose of causing monetary losses, creating fear, and/or undermining social stability” (AMU 2015, para. 1). The effects of agroterrorsim could be detrimental to society within the United States. The consumption of food to sustain life is vitally important. If a population felt that their food sources were truly threatened, an effective fear could be inflicted and in turn cause irrational behavior from the population. The United States agricultural sector would feel effects according to how effective of an attack is provided from the terrorists. Also mentioned in the lesson notes, the United States population spends significantly

National security considerations regarding the spread of disease, and potential epidemics, and potential environmental difficulties overlap with what is presently the most significant U.S. national security concern and that is the threat of international terrorism. The genuine threat of bioterrorism means that disease related concerns and environmental concerns overlap with potential threats involving terrorism. This concern is enhanced by the possibility that terrorist organizations may be able to obtain biologically dangerous materials, and use these for destructive purposes. For example, in the early 2000s the United

Biosecurity is set to keep a close eye on biological agents that can be used as weapons of war as well as protect humans from said agents (Mandal 2014). Over time, biosecurity has increased in the eye of the public as good procedures taken to ensure the safety of the human race. Biosecurity has implemented wise techniques into the agricultural world playing a very important role in the sustenance of life for human beings. According to WHO Biosecurity measures, it defines the difference in systems of health: animal, human, and plant. Animal health is threatened when a pathogenic agent produces “adverse consequences on the importation”; this can be interpreted as realizing that there

Breathe in and it could have been your last breath! Ricin, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), botulinum toxin, T-2 mycotoxin, anthrax, brucellosis, cholera, pneumonic plague, tularemia, Q fever, smallpox, glanders, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, and viral hemorrhagic fever have one thing in common. The ability to be used as a biological weapon. Biological weapons when used are the unnecessary killing of men, women and even children and should be a practice that is not used.