Crisis Management in Bioterrorism Attack: Medical Approach

Abstract

Murder or terrorism with biological or chemical agents is not a farfetched scenario — it has been used before. The particular risk of biological agents, when used as weapons, is their extreme uncontrollableness. The biological threat is very different from the threat posed by chemical or nuclear weapons in terms of needed preparedness and response actions and in terms of appropriate research and intelligence requirements. The control of such an epidemic requires a coordinated effort of the entire public health community. Local public health experts — physicians, nurses, and other medical personnel — would use their epidemiological tools to detect, identify, and investigate a suspected biological agent and formulate proper decontamination procedures.