Bioterrorism
Background
- An attack using various biological agents, such as viruses, bacteria, or toxins to cause injury and death.[1]
- Can affect humans, anmials/livestock, and/or plant life.
- These disease still exist globally in many countries, but may be modified for increased effect as a weapon.
- Smallpox last naturally occurred in 1977[2]
Classification
- Agents are divided into three categories, based on risk.[1]
- Category A: (highest risk) Easy to spread or transmit from person to person, and/or cause high morbidity/mortality rates.
- Category B: Moderately easy to spread, moderate morbidity and usually low death rates.
- Category C: Emerging agents that may be developed into weapons 2/2 ease of access or production, or have potential for high morbidity/mortality.
Specific Agents
Bioterrorism Agents[3]
Differential Diagnosis
Mass casualty incident
- Radiation exposure (disaster)
- Dirty bomb
- Bioterrorism
- Chemical weapons
- Mass shooting
- Natural Disaster (e.g. Hurricane, Earthquake, Tornado, Tsunami, etc)
- Unintentional large-scale incident (e.g. building collapse, train derailment, etc)
- Major pandemic
- Explosions
See Also
External Links
References
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