Chemical and Biological Terrorism: Research and Development to Improve Civilian Medical Response

Chemical and Biological Terrorism: Research and Development to Improve Civilian Medical Response

This paper aims to highlight the differences between chemical and biological attacks and specify areas of improvement needed in the civilian R&D sphere.

1999

R&D program expansion is needed for smallpox, anthrax, viral encephalitis, botulinum toxin, Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B, ricin, and T-2 Mycotoxin, in both surveillance and countermeasures. Terrorist attacks using biological weapons would look very different than an attack using chemical weapons and needs different preparation. There needs to be a system for the communication of potential terrorist activity to medical facilities in every state and major metropolitan area.