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| Gathering intelligence could theoretically prevent attacks. However, in the case of an agent like smallpox, an attack could consist of a single individual with no apparent syptoms simply entering the country and walking around in population centres. | Gathering intelligence could theoretically prevent attacks. However, in the case of an agent like smallpox, an attack could consist of a single individual with no apparent syptoms simply entering the country and walking around in population centres. | ||
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Revision as of 00:44, 22 March 2002
Biosecurity is the guarantee that a state can maintain the health of its citizens and agriculture even under active threat of biological warfare or epidemic disease. ??original said "by definition it cannot be ensured by ...." - not sure how this strictly follows - can someone explain??
Countermeasures include monitoring statistics for patterns which suggest emerging epidemics; ensuring sufficient stockpiles of the appropriate vaccines or other medicines required to contain an outbreak; public health education and alertness; widespread use of sophisticated pathogen detectors.
Preventative measures are unlikely to be effective or acceptable to the general population in peacetime. There could be general vaccination against biowarfare agents, but the public is unlikely to accept potentially harmful vaccines for such agents, which tend to be extinct or very rare in the wild. States do not currently routinely vaccinate against likely biowarfare agents.
Gathering intelligence could theoretically prevent attacks. However, in the case of an agent like smallpox, an attack could consist of a single individual with no apparent syptoms simply entering the country and walking around in population centres.