Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Jul;29(3):717-56.
doi: 10.1016/j.ccc.2013.03.015.

Biowarfare and bioterrorism

Michael D Christian  1
Affiliations
Review

Biowarfare and bioterrorism

Michael D Christian. Crit Care Clin. 2013 Jul.

Abstract

Bioterrorism is not only a reality of the times in which we live but bioweapons have been used for centuries. Critical care physicians play a major role in the recognition of and response to a bioterrorism attack. Critical care clinicians must be familiar with the diagnosis and management of the most likely bioterrorism agents, and also be adequately prepared to manage a mass casualty situation. This article reviews the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of the most likely agents of biowarfare and bioterrorism.

Keywords: Anthrax; Bioterrorism; Bioweapon; Critical care; Mass casualty; Smallpox.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Photomicrograph of Bacillus anthracis from an agar culture, showing spores; fuchsin-methylene blue spore stain.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(A) A common or point source outbreak characterized by a rapid increase and decrease of the epidemic curve over a short period. This pattern would be seen when there is a release of a biological agent that is nontransmissible at a single point in time in a single location. (B) (bar graph) A propagated source outbreak in which the disease is transmissible from 1 person to another. In this situation, particularly early in the outbreak, the number of cases does not increase in a linear fashion, but rather peaks and troughs associated with the natural transmission cycle (incubation period and infectious period) are seen. The line shows a steady increase in cases, which suggests an extended exposure to a source, as may be seen in a bioterrorism event (although it can occur naturally on occasion, although this is uncommon).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Anthrax: posteroanterior chest radiograph taken on the fourth day of illness. Note the wide mediastinum and the left pleural effusion.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(A) A boy in Bangladesh in 1974 with classic smallpox; note the centrifugal distribution and similar stage of all of the lesions. (B) Close-up of the boy in Fig. 3A; note the umbilicated nature of the vesicles.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Appearance of lesions in smallpox and chickenpox.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bush L.M., Abrams B.H., Beall A. Index case of fatal inhalational anthrax due to bioterrorism in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2001;345(22):1607–1610. - PubMed
    1. Bush L.M., Perez M.T. The anthrax attacks 10 years later. Ann Intern Med. 2012;156(1 Pt 1):41–44. - PubMed
    1. Kadlec R.P., Zelicoff A.P., Vrtis A.M. Biological weapons control. Prospects and implications for the future. JAMA. 1997;278(5):351–356. - PubMed
    1. Spencer R.C. Potential bio-terror agents. J Hosp Infect. 2007;65(Suppl 2):19–22. - PubMed
    1. Gyles C. Agroterrorism. Can Vet J. 2010;51(4):347–348. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms