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Biological Attack: Are We Ready?

BIOLOGICAL ATTACK ARE WE READY? Imagine the nightmare scenario of an attack from a terrorist group or hostile nation. It probably involves a radioactive blast and a mushroom cloud, right? What about an attack that involves germs and surgical masks? How does that factor in? The reality is biological attacks may be just as devastating as the typical terrorist attack. How prepared is the U.S., and what's the history of biological warfare and terrorism throughout the world? Where We Stand The news isn't good – the U.S. is scarcely prepared for a large-scale infection of the population, whether man-made or naturally occurring. And this is despite spending billions to improve response efforts. HOW PREPARED IS THE U.S. FOR A LARGE-SCALE CONTAGIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAK? AREA GRADE Detection and diagnosis Attribution Communication Medical countermeasure availability B for smallpox Medical countermeasure development and approval Medical countermeasure dispensing Medical management Meets most expectations Meets many expectations Meets minimal expectations Meets few expectations Fails to meet expectations HOW MUCH DOES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SPEND ON PREPAREDNESS? $5.5 billion Biodefense $5.5 billion $3.1 billion HIV/AIDS $1.7 billion Immunization Annual federal spending on biodefense programs Mental health $2.3 billion That's more than the National Institutes of Health spends on HIV/AIDS, immunization, mental health and women's health. Women's health $3.9 billion $1 billion 149 Total spent since 2003 on federal BioWatch program, which aims to detect the release of airborne pathogens as a result of a terrorist attack Positive results for dangerous pathogens reported since the start of the BioWatch program Actual pathogens detected; all results were false alarms BioWatch operates in about 30 cities across the country, reportedly including New York Boston San Francisco Chicago St. Louis Philadelphia Washington Los Angeles San Diego Houston -10 What They're Looking For The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list more than 40 pathogens as potential bioterrorism agents; here are a few of the most dangerous: ANTHRAX SYMPTOMS OF INHALATION ANTHRAX Spores are found readily in nature, can be produced in a lab and can last for a long time in the environment. Contact with anthrax can cause severe illness in both humans and animals, though it is not contagious. Confusion or dizziness Headache Cough 10%-15% Survival rate inhalation anthrax without treatment Fever and chills Body aches Sweats Shortness of breath (often drenching) Survival rate after 55% aggressive treatment Nausea, vomiting or stomach pains Chest discomfort Extreme tiredness BOTULISM) BRUCELLOSIS A muscle-paralyzing disease caused by a toxin made by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. Foodborne botulism is the most common cause of infection. It's most frequently transmitted to humans through dairy products, but those who spend time around infected animals are also susceptible, such as hunters, veterinarians and meatpacking workers. 6 hours O00000 Death from infection is rare (only 2% of cases), but recovery can take several months. Most rapid appearance of symptoms SYMPTOMS OF FOODBORNE BOTULISM SYMPTOMS OF INFECTION Dry mouth Malaise Drooping eyelids Double vision Slurred speech Headache Fever Anorexia Sweats Blurred vision Muscle weakness Difficulty swallowing Pain in muscles, joints or back Fatigue PLAGUE SYMPTOMS Plague is caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium found in rodents and their fleas in many areas around the world. Yersinia pestis used in an aerosol attack could cause cases of pneumonic plague. Vomiting Nausea Without early treatment, pneumonic plague usually ds to respiratory failure, shock and rapid death. Fever Bloody or watery Weakness sputum Abdominal pain Rapidly developing pneumonia SMALLPOX TULAREMIA Smallpox is a serious, contagious and sometimes fatal infectious disease. There is no specific treatment for smallpox disease, and the only prevention is vaccination. Tularemia is a potentially serious illness that occurs naturally in the United States.lt is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis, which is found in animals (especially rodents and rabbits). Tularemia is not known to be spread from person to person. Last reported case of smallpox 1977 Last naturally occurring case in the world, reported in Somalia 1949 The disease can be fatal if it is not in the U.S. treated with the right antibiotics. SYMPTOMS SYMPTOMS Malaise Chills Fever Sudden fever Headaches Head and body aches Joint pain Diarrhea Dry cough Vomiting Rash that develops into raised bumps Progressive weakness Muscle aches A Brief History The world is no stranger to people using diseases as weapons. In a sea battle, Hannibal of Carthage hurls clay pots full of vipers onto the decks of enemy ships. Bodies of plague or smallpox victims are hurled over city walls. Arsenic smoke is used by the Chinese. The Spanish offer wine spiked with the blood of leprosy patients to the French. 1000 BC 184 BC 1100s 1495 German artillery soldiers fire 3,000 shells filled with dianisidine chlorosulfate, a lung irritant, at British troops. The shells contained too much TNT, which destroy the chemical. Polish artillery general Siemenowics fires spheres filled with the saliva of rabid dogs at his enemies. British officers come up with a plan to distribute smallpox-infected blankets 1650 to Native Americans at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania. 1914 1763 1915 Allied troops make their own chlorine gas attacks; Germany comes up with diphosgene gas; the French try cyanide gas. German chemist Gerhart Schrader comes up with nerve agent tabun (later called German agent A or GA). Two years later, he develops sarin British and U.S. researchers develop VX, a nerve gas so toxic that a single drop on the skin can kill in 15 minutes. Germany introduces mustard gas, which burns the skin and lungs. 1917 1936 1950s 1959 23 U.S. servicemen and one U.S. civilian are exposed to sarin in Okinawa, Japan, while cleaning bombs filled with the deadly nerve agent. The International Red Cross says mustard gas and possibly nerve agents were used by the Egyptians against civilians in the Yemen civil war. Researchers at Fort Detrick, Maryland breed yellow-fever-infected mosquitoes. The U.S. and Russia sign a treaty banning the use of biological s, and the U.S. claims by the following year to have destroyed its weapons. 1969 1967 1972 A Soviet bioweapons facility releases a plume of anthrax, killing at least 64 people Thousands could have died if the wind was blowing the other way. Despite the treaty banning biologm had been Iraq attacks Iran and soon unleashes a mustard agent and the nerve agent tabun, delivered in bombs dropped by airplanes. Followers of a cult member running for a county judgeship in a local election sprinkle homegrown salmonella bacteria on supermarket produce, door handles and restaurant salad bars in Oregon. Nobody dies, but 751 people become ill. I weapons, the Soviet going full speed. 1979 1980 1984 2001 1994 A newspaper editor in Florida dies of anthrax traced to a letter. Anthrax-laden letters also turn up at the offices of ABC, CBS, and NBC in New York. Anthrax is also found in the New York office of Gov. George Pataki. Letters containing anthrax also arrive at the U.S. Senate mailroom. Residents of Matsumoto, Japan, develop symptoms of illness due to nerve gas. Seven die and 500 are sickened. A second attack in 1995 strikes a Tokyo subway, killing 12 and infecting thousands. Sentn DascLe So4 GREENLE We SOURCES • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ • http://www.wmdcenter.org/ • http://report.nih.gov/categorical_spending.aspx Ohttp://www.securitymanagement.com o http://www.cdc.gov o http://www.webmd.com securitydegreehub.com REPORT CARD

Biological Attack: Are We Ready?

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Whether you’re aware of it or not, countries are consistently gearing up for the potential of a biological attack. And the fact of the matter is that biological attacks have been around since 1,000 ...

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