Appropriate responses to bioterrorist threats

doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7318.877

BMJ 2001;323:877-878 ( 20 October )

Editorials

Appropriate responses to bioterrorist threats

The health services will play a vital role in protection against covert releases

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Although the threat of bioterrorism in the United Kingdom is still considered to be low, concern has heightened in the wakeof the terrorist outrages in the United States on 11 Septemberand subsequent covert releases of anthrax. ¹ ² Potential eventscan be considered in three groups: deliberate release of a "weaponised"biological agents such as anthrax; use of a common pathogen suchas salmonella; and hoaxes or false alarms. Release could occurcovertly, or a warning may be given, or a suspect devicediscovered.

Experience of such incidents is limited. The use of a common pathogen is illustrated by deliberate contamination of saladbars in restaurants with Salmonella typhimurium by the religioussect led by Rajneesh in Oregon, United States, in 1984, causingillness in over 700 people.³ In 1995 the Aum Shinrikyo sectused sarin in the Tokyo underground.⁴ Subsequent investigationsfound that the sect was experimenting with Bacillus anthracisand Clostridium botulinum . . . [Full text of this article]

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