Arguments Against Bioterrorism

Section 7, “The Anthrax Skulls”, relates the atmosphere at the Department of Health and Human Services and their actions at the time of the 9/11 attacks. The story of

During its 2002 symposium on the future of public health, the Harvard School of Public Health recalled several incidents that show anthrax to be a genuine bioterrorism threat: 1979 incidents of inhalation of anthrax in Sverdlovsk (Hamburg, et al., 2002, p. 131); the deliberate release of anthrax only weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks (Hamburg, et al., 2002, p. 124); additional incidents of anthrax being deliberately released in 2001 (Hamburg, et al., 2002, p. 127). In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a 2006 report mentioning a 2004 anthrax incident in the Dirksen Senate Office Building (CNA Corporation, 2006, p. 1). In addition, there are numerous reports of white powder being received by business and governmental officials. Consequently, there is a realistic possibility of an anthrax (or Ricin) bioterrorist attack in the future and the average individual should know how to respond if he/she receives mysterious white powder in an envelope.

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.

Germs is a collaboration from three writers/Pulitzer prize winners, Judith Miller, a reporter/writer for The New York Times, Stephen Engelberg, reported for The Times on national security, and William Broad, a science writer for The Times. In their Preface, Miller describes their morning of September 11, 2001. How better to catch an American reader’s attention than broaching the subject of 9/11. “Where were you on the morning of 9/11?” We connect our lives and our own life story based on this tragic event in our country’s history. Miller and her coauthors had a begun research for this book several years before this terrorist attack. As she outlines the morning of 9/11, just blocks away from ground zero while watching these devastating physical

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, coordinate efforts in conjunction with states and other partnersto offer a system of health surveillance, which would monitor and prevent disease outbreaks, which includes bioterrorism. The goal of the agency is to implement strategies to prevent diseases as well as maintain national health statistics. Another role of the CDC is to safeguard against international disease transmission, this is vital as the agency has personnel located several countries outside the United States. Looking at the agency’s core functions, examining influences in the workplace, and identifying roles of the agency personnel is vital to

“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

Chapter thirteen of the textbook, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism Containing and Preventing Biological Threats, by Jeffrey R. Ryan, examines a wide range of techniques, set up, to help the United States, or U.S., in becoming prepared for a potential biological terrorist attack. A portion of the techniques mentioned throughout chapter thirteen were early warning detection systems. These systems are known as the Autonomous Detection system, and the Biohazard Detection System (Ryan, 327-329). Although both these detection systems have their benefits, the one that has conveyed more consideration over the years is the Biohazard Detection

Defence, U. D. (2016, 01 15). News Transcript - Department of Defense Press Briefing by Army Officials in the Pentagon Briefing Room on the Investigation into the Inadvertent Shipment from Dugway Proving Ground of Live Anthrax Spores. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Defence: http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/643396/department-of-defense-press-briefing-by-army-officials-in-the-pentagon-briefing

Beginning in the early 1990’s, a series of governmental actions against biological warfare and bioterrorism were instituted, including the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, and the Defense Authorization Act. These acts were meant to either dissuade bioterrorists or boost the government’s power in defensive biological warfare research (Lanthrop). In April of 2000, the CDC published a guide, Biological and Chemical Terrorism: Strategic Plan for Preparedness and Response, which covered “planning, detection and surveillance, laboratory analysis, emergency response, and communications” (“CDC”). The APIC and CDC have co-written a guide for hospitals who come into contact with biological agents to follow (“CDC”). To sum up these guidebooks, it is important to look out for the following incidences: an irregular rapid increase in disease occurrences, an epidemic curve, an unusual pattern or time for a disease to thrive, clusters of patients from the same area, large numbers of fatal cases, simultaneous reports of animal deaths (Lanthrop).

The Quadrennial Homeland Security review suggest six strategic challenges that will drive the overall risk to the nation over the next five years. These six risks include: the terrorist threat; growing cyber threats; biological concerns; nuclear terrorism; transnational criminal organizations; and natural hazards (DHS, 2014). The terrorists threat is, arguably, the most publicized and popular of the six risks the DHS lists. The particular risk is unique in the fact that although it can be planned for and mitigated against by state and local governments, it is primarily a federal responsibility, or at least perceived so by most entities. The DHS itself was established due to the events of September 11th 2001 and it has since been a consistent

It is important to understand the references to history that the author uses, in order to properly read and understand this articles intentions. First the author references the anthrax attack carried out by terrorists in 2001. These attacks consisted of letters with anthrax spores inside of them, which were then mailed different news offices and the offices of two U.S. Senators. The attacks killed five people and infected nearly 20 others. Guinan 's

A governmental concern is that a bioterrorist attack will trigger panic amongst the population. Panic refers to a group response where intense fear causes people to be concerned with only their survival. While actual panic is rare, there are certain factors that could cause panic in the event of a bioterrorist attack, including limited medical resources where “first come, first serve” applies, a perception that there is poor

The fear of a Chemical or Biological attack has been a concern to many governments. These attacks, either by state agencies or individuals, have caused loss of life and the United States has not been spared in this forms of attacks.

The U.S. is perhaps known for its abundance and accessibility of food. The U.S. agriculture remains as one of the driving factor of the nation’s economy generating over $991 billion in 2001 (Chalk 2003, 2). Additionally, agricultural and food industries are important to social, economic and political stability of the U.S (Chalk 2003, 2). However, the nation’s agricultural and food industries are vulnerable in biological threats such as agroterrorism. Agroterrorism is a subset of bioterrorism and its main targets are crops and livestock.

Terrorism and the United States A cloud of anthrax spores looming in the sky of San Diego California