Biological threats to humans, animals, agriculture, and the environment are among the most serious threats facing the United States and the international community. In today’s interconnected world, biological incidents have the potential to cost thousands of American lives, cause significant anxiety, and disrupt travel and trade. The National Biodefense Strategy sets the course for U.S. to combat the real and serious biothreats our country faces, whether they arise from natural outbreaks of disease, accidents involving high consequence pathogens, or the actions of terrorists or state actors.
The National Biodefense Strategy enables risk awareness to inform decision-making across the biodefense enterprise; ensures biodefense enterprise capabilities to prevent bio-incidents; strives for biodefense enterprise preparedness to reduce the impacts of bio-incidents; enables rapid response to limit the impacts of bio incidents; and facilitates recovery to restore the community, the economy, and the environment after a bio-incident.
As the biological threat continues to evolve, so must our biodefense capabilities. Preparing for biothreats is a critical aspect of our national security. By coordinating programs, actions and budgets, the federal government can better anticipate, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological disasters.
