RT Book, Section
A1 Lane, H. Clifford
A1 Fauci, Anthony S.
A2 Jameson, J. Larry
A2 Fauci, Anthony S.
A2 Kasper, Dennis L.
A2 Hauser, Stephen L.
A2 Longo, Dan L.
A2 Loscalzo, Joseph
SR Print(0)
ID 1164035331
T1 Microbial Bioterrorism
T2 Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 20e
YR 2018
FD 2018
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781259644016
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1164035331
RD 2024/04/19
AB Descriptions  of  the  use  of  microbial  pathogens  as  potential  weapons  of  war  or  terrorism  date  from  ancient  times.  Among  the  most  frequently  cited  of  such  episodes  are  the  Hittites  sending  rams  infected  with  what  is  thought  to  be  tularemia  to  their  enemies  in  the  fourteenth  century  B.C.,  the  poisoning  of  water  supplies  in  the  sixth  century  B.C.  with  the  fungus  Claviceps  purpurea  (rye  ergot)  by  the  Assyrians,  the  hurling  of  the  dead  bodies  of  plague  victims  over  the  walls  of  the  city  of  Kaffa  by  the  Tartar  army  in  1346,  and  the  efforts  by  the  British  to  spread  smallpox  to  the  Native  American  population  loyal  to  the  French  via  contaminated  blankets  in  1763.  The  tragic  attacks  on  the  World  Trade  Center  and  the  Pentagon  on  September  11,  2001,  followed  closely  by  the  mailing  of  letters  containing  anthrax  spores  to  media  and  congressional  offices  through  the  U.S.  Postal  Service,  dramatically  changed  the  mindset  of  the  American  public  regarding  both  our  vulnerability  to  microbial  bioterrorist  attacks  and  the  seriousness  and  intent  of  the  federal  government  to  protect  its  citizens  against  future  attacks.  Modern  science  has  revealed  methods  of  deliberately  spreading  or  enhancing  disease  in  ways  not  appreciated  by  our  ancestors.  The  combination  of  basic  research,  good  medical  practice,  and  constant  vigilance  will  be  needed  to  defend  against  such  attacks.