A View of BioterrorismBioterrorism is the intentional circulation of biological agents that take the form of bacteria, viruses, or toxins. (Bioterrorism Overview) In Dan Brown's Inferno, once Sienna describes the sequence of events that led to her hospitalization, Robert discovers a cylinder with a biohazard sign in his jacket, which he chooses to call the "consulate of the United States". Under current U.S. law, “bioagents that have been declared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Department of Agriculture to potentially pose a serious threat to public health and safety are formally described as Select Agents" of which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) classifies agents as A, B, or C and oversees the Select Agent program. (Clinical Management...) Say no to plagiarism. Get an essay tailored to "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned' Get an Original Essay An attack involving bioterrorism is the thoughtful discharge of toxins, bacteria, viruses, or other harmful means, which have the capacity to produce death or disease in animals, plants or people. These means of aggression can appear in nature, but are usually altered or mutated to prevent drugs from treating them, to allow a more widespread attack or to ameliorate the pathological aspects caused by these bioagents (Bioterrorism: learn the definition…) Bioagents have the ability to travel through water, food or air. Terrorists usually use biological agents due to the extreme difficulty of detection, as well as not having an immediate effect on people (it can take from several hours to several days to create an effect). Similar to smallpox, some bioterrorist agents have the ability to move from individual to individual and others do not, such as anthrax. (Bioterrorism Overview) Bioterrorism is a weapon that attracts the attention of terrorists because it can cause widespread fear and panic. Agents can be easily dispersed and are inexpensive and easy to obtain. Bioterrorism has some important limitations, according to military leaders who have used bioterrorism as a military asset. You cannot simply launch a bioterrorist attack and simply kill the enemy; even innocent people will be hurt or killed. Biological weapons are mostly valuable to terrorists as a technique to create widespread panic in a specific area. Technologists, however, have warned people about the possible influence that genetic engineering could provide to future bioterrorists, for example Bill Joy. (Bioterrorism Overview) “If they are human, they can use propaganda or other psychological or biological techniques to reduce the birth rate until the mass of humanity dies out, leaving the world to the elites. Or, if the elite are soft-hearted liberals, they may decide to play the role of good shepherds to the rest of the human race.” (Joy) The use of anthrax, “a serious infectious disease caused by rod-shaped, gram-positive bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis,” was commonly used against animals during the start of World War I. This method of using anthrax against animals became ineffective, but Russia had decided after the First World War to launch a “sabotage campaign” in Romania, France and the United States. (Riedel) In 1915, Anton Dilger was asked to investigate glanders in the United States, “an infectious disease occurring chiefly in horses, mules, and donkeys.” (Bioterrorism: Learn the definition...) In Chevy Chase, Maryland, Dilger created alaboratory. He used dock workers to infect horses being shipped to Britain with glanders. Dilger was not arrested, but was always suspected of bioterrorism, despite being a German agent. Dilger ultimately died during the 1918 influenza pandemic in Madrid, Spain. The Russians arrested another German agent who had similar goals to Dilger in 1916. (Riedel) “Germany and its allies infected the French cavalry horses and many of the Russian mules and horses on the Eastern Front. These actions hindered artillery and troop movements, as well as supply convoys." (Biodefense and bioterrorism…)In September and October 2001, numerous cases of deliberate anthrax attacks occurred in the United States. US Congress and media offices began receiving letters containing infectious anthrax. Similar attacks were also occurring around this time. The CDC classifies agents (A, B, or C) and administers the Select Agent Program, which regulates laboratories that may possess, use, or transfer select agents within the United States. . As with US attempts to classify harmful recreational drugs, the engineered viruses have not yet been classified, and avian H5N1 has been shown to achieve high mortality and human communication in a laboratory setting. (Biological warfare…) Category A agents create panic throughout national security, can spread easily, allow terrorists to gain a great deal of power, can create a large health problem on a population, and require multiple means of preparation in a time of crisis. For example, rabbit fever, or “tularemia,” can seriously harm the lives of many, but has a low mortality rate due to available treatments. Also, anthrax, “a non-contagious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis.” Anthrax can actually be cured with vaccination if detected at an early stage. (Bioterrorism: learn the definition…) Category B agents have low mortality rates but are easy to move around. Such as brucellosis, “a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat of infected animals or by close contact with their secretions.” (Bioterrorism Overview…) Category C agents are more available to terrorists but can be designed to be more destructive and spread more easily. Examples include Hantavirus, H1N1, HIV/AIDS, SARS, Nipah virus, etc. (Riedel) Biological agents are increasingly becoming a threat to the United States, and laboratories are improving early detection devices to identify at-risk contaminated populations and speed rapid treatment. Large cities have priority in receiving early detection devices over urban areas due to their larger populations. Other technologies are also being created to discover the origins of the biological agent. (Clinical Management…) Phases of protecting the United States against bioterrorism include early detection response strategies to counter bioterrorism, improving equipment and capabilities of first responders, implementing the Generation-3 automated detection system, and the BioShield Project. Detection and resilience strategies are usually executed at the Office of Health Affairs (OHA), a part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), whose responsibility is to protect the American people in a time of crisis. OHA's BioWatch program requires detection devices to be spread across thirty or more areas of the country at high risk of attack. These devices “detect the…)