A survey of biological terrorism and America's domestic preparedness program

"This paper examines America's preparedness for an act of biological terrorism and the current status of efforts by the federal government to improve national, state, and local capabilities to recognize and respond to such an attack. The first section provides an overview of bioterrorism and the ways in which preparing for and responding to bioterrorism differs from that of other forms of terrorism. The second section describes current programs underway in the United States to prepare for and respond to biological terrorism. In an address to the National Academy of Sciences, D.A. Henderson, head of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies at Johns Hopkins University, stated that it is "near impossible to summarize succinctly the status of what is best characterized as a miscellaneous array of fragmented, poorly coordinated initiatives." Nonetheless, that is exactly what this paper attempts to do. The final section concludes with some observations on areas of preparedness that require additional attention."--Page [5].