Development of a Risk-Priority Score for Category A Bioterrorism Agents as an Aid for Public Health Policy

Development of a Risk-Priority Score for Category A Bioterrorism Agents as an Aid for Public Health Policy

The authors aim to create a multifactorial risk-priority scoring system for Category A BW agents using 10 criteria that include factors relating to disease potentiality, probability of attack, and prevention/intervention methods.

2006

Using the 10 criteria, anthrax scored the highest and was followed by smallpox. Tularemia scored the lowest. The authors emphasize that studies such as this one usually do not take into account social factors, such as public panic caused by an attack, which can have significant impact in response to an attack.