Terrorism refers to the use or threat of force or violence against people or property. A bioterrorist attack releases viruses, bacteria, or other germs to cause illness or death. These biological agents are typically found in nature. But they can sometimes be made more harmful by increasing their ability to cause or spread disease, or to resist medical treatment.
Biological agents spread through the air, water or in food. They can be very hard to detect, and they don't cause illness for several hours or days. Some agents can also be spread from person to person. Scientists worry that anthrax, botulism, hemorrhagic fever viruses such as Ebola, plague, or smallpox could be used as biological agents.
Biodefense involves medical measures to protect people against biological agents. This means medicines and vaccinations. It also means medical research and preparations to defend against bioterrorist attacks.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Biodefense
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/BiodefenseRelated/Biodefense/about/
- Bioterrorism Overview(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.bt.cdc.gov/bioterrorism/overview.asp
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Bioterrorism: What You Need to Know(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/safety/safety/710.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/healthy/safety/safety/710.printerview.html
- Building a Stronger Defense against Bioterrorism(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/bioterror082907.html
- FAQs Regarding the Deliberate Use of Biological Agents and Chemicals as Weapons(World Health Organization) - http://www.who.int/csr/delibepidemics/faqbioagents/en/
- Japanese Researchers Develop New Smallpox Vaccine(03/10/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_81527.html
- Offers to Treat Biological Threats: What You Need to Know(Federal Trade Commission) - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt104.shtm
- Strategic National Stockpile(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.bt.cdc.gov/stockpile/
- Public Involvement in Water Security(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water) - http://cfpub.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/publicInvolve.cfm
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Bioterrorism and CAM: What the Public Needs to Know(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/news/alerts/bioterrorism/
- Handbook for Coping after Terrorism(Dept. of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime) - http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/cat_hndbk/welcome.html
- Mental Health Aspects of Terrorism(Center for Mental Health Services) - http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/KEN-01-0095/default.asp
- Emergency Preparedness and Response: Agents, Diseases, and Other Threats(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.bt.cdc.gov/
- FDA and the Fight against Terrorism(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/104_terror.html
- Tularemia(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/tularemia/DS00714/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
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Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness(Federal Emergency Management Agency) - Links to PDF - http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/
Also available in Spanish http://www.fema.gov/spanish/areyouready/
- CARVER + Shock: Enhancing Food Defense(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/carvershock061107.html
- Homeland Security Advisory System(Dept. of Homeland Security) - http://www.dhs.gov/xinfoshare/programs/Copy_of_press_release_0046.shtm
- Mass Psychogenic Illness(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/648.printerview.html
- New FDA Test Detects Fake Bioterror Agents(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/606_bioterror.html
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Preparing for Events, Terrorism(American Red Cross) - http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.d229a5f06620c6052b1ecfbf43181aa0/?vgnextoid=fd71779a32ecb110VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
Also available in Spanish http://www.cruzrojaamericana.org/general.asp?SN=200&OP=216&SUOP=252
- ReadyAmerica: Frequently Asked Questions(Dept. of Homeland Security) - http://www.ready.gov/america/other/faqs.html
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Respirator Fact Sheet(National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) - http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2003-144/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh/docs/2003-144sp.html
- Respirators for Public Health Emergencies(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/respirators061107.html
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NIAID Biodefense Image Library(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/BiodefenseRelated/Biodefense/PublicMedia/image_library.htm
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Tularemia(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Tularemia%22
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Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory Tour(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/BiodefenseRelated/Biodefense/PublicMedia/labtour/
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Animals as early detectors of bioevents: veterinary tools and a... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19006972&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Zoonoses likely to be used in bioterrorism. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19006970&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Bioterrorism and the anaesthesiologist's perspective. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18831299&tool=MedlinePlus
- Biodefense and Bioterrorism -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(biological+warfare[majr]+OR+biological+warfare+agents[majr])+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(bacillus+anthracis[majr]+OR+anthrax[majr]+OR+smallpox[majr]+OR+variola+virus[majr])+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
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Glossary(Dept. of Homeland Security) - http://www.ready.gov/america/other/glossary.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.listo.gov/america/other/glossary.html
- Community and State Information(Dept. of Homeland Security) - http://www.ready.gov/america/local/
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - http://www.cdc.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/
- Dept. of Homeland Security - http://www.dhs.gov/
- Federal Bureau of Investigation - http://www.fbi.gov/
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
- U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases - http://www.usamriid.army.mil/
- Bioterrorism Act of 2002(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html
- National Security Emergencies: Things to Know(Federal Emergency Management Agency) - http://www.fema.gov/kids/nse/things_know.htm
- Talking to Children about Terrorism and War(American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) - http://www.aacap.org/page.ww?name=Talking+To+Children+About+Terrorism+And+War§ion=Facts+for+Families
- Youngest Victims: Disaster Preparedness to Meet Children's Needs(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/disaster_preparedness.htm
- Anthrax - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/anthrax.html
- Botulism - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/botulism.html
- Chemical Emergencies - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/chemicalemergencies.html
- Coping with Disasters - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/copingwithdisasters.html
- Disaster Preparation and Recovery - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/disasterpreparationandrecovery.html
- Hemorrhagic Fevers - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hemorrhagicfevers.html
- Immunization - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/immunization.html
- Infectious Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infectiousdiseases.html
- Plague - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/plague.html
- Smallpox - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/smallpox.html
- Disasters - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/disasters.html
- Poisoning, Toxicology, Environmental Health - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/poisoningtoxicologyenvironmentalhealth.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Biodefense and Bioterrorism is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/
Biodefense and Bioterrorism - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/biodefenseandbioterrorism.html