Dataset Information

Bioterrorism: An analysis of biological agents used in terrorist events.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Covid19 pandemic has reignited debates and discussions around healthcare systems' biosecurity vulnerabilities and cast a spotlight on the potential weaponization of biological agents. Terrorist and violent extremist groups have already attempted to incite the intentional spread of Covid19 and to use it as an improvised form of a biological weapon. This study aims to provide an epidemiological description of all terrorism-related attacks using biological agents sustained between 1970 and 2019.

Methods

Data collection was performed using a retrospective database search through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD was searched using the internal database search functions for all events using biological weapons between January 1, 1970 - December 31, 2019.

Results

33 terrorist attacks involving biological agents were recorded between 1970 and 2019, registering 9 deaths and 806 injuries. 21 events occurred in the United States, 3 in Kenya, 2 each in both the United Kingdom and Pakistan and a single event in Japan, Columbia, Israel, Russia and Tunisia.

Conclusion

The reported use of biological agents as a terrorist weapon is extremely rare and accounts for 0.02% of all historic terrorist attacks. Despite its apparent rarity, however, bioterrorism has the ability to inflict mass injuries unmatched by conventional weapons. Anthrax has been the most commonly used in previous bioterrorism events with the vast majority of reported attacks occurring in the United States by a single suspected perpetrator. Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) and Disaster Medicine (DM) specialists need to be proactive in delivering ongoing educational sessions on biological events to first responder communities, and anticipate emerging novel biotechnology threats.

SUBMITTER: Tin D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8818129 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Bioterrorism: An analysis of biological agents used in terrorist events.

Tin Derrick D Sabeti Pardis P Ciottone Gregory R GR

The American journal of emergency medicine 20220206

<h4>Background</h4>The Covid19 pandemic has reignited debates and discussions around healthcare systems' biosecurity vulnerabilities and cast a spotlight on the potential weaponization of biological agents. Terrorist and violent extremist groups have already attempted to incite the intentional spread of Covid19 and to use it as an improvised form of a biological weapon. This study aims to provide an epidemiological description of all terrorism-related attacks using biological agents sustained be ...[more]

PMID: 35152120

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Project description:IntroductionThe safety of antiviral agents in real-world clinical settings is crucial, as pre-marketing studies often do not capture all adverse events (AE). Active pharmacovigilance strategies are essential for detecting and characterising these AE comprehensively.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to identify and characterise active pharmacovigilance strategies used in real-world clinical settings for patients under systemic antiviral agents, focusing on the frequency of AE and the clinical data sources used.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review by searching three electronic bibliographic databases targeting observational prospective active pharmacovigilance studies, phase IV clinical trials for post-marketing safety surveillance, and interventional studies assessing active pharmacovigilance strategies, focusing on individuals exposed to systemic antiviral agents.ResultsWe included 36 primary studies, predominantly using Drug Event Monitoring (DEM), with a minority employing sentinel sites and registries. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was the most common condition, with the majority using DEM. Within the DEM, there was a wide range of incidences of patients experiencing at least one AE, and most of these studies used one or two data sources. Sentinel site studies were less common, with two on hepatitis C virus (HCV) and one on HIV, each relying on one or two data sources. The single study using a registry focusing on HIV therapy reported using just one data source. Patient interviews were the most common data source, followed by medical records and laboratory tests. The quality of the studies was considered 'good' in 18/36, 'fair' in 1/36, and 'poor' in 17/36 studies.ConclusionDEM was the predominant pharmacovigilance strategy, employing multiple data sources, and appears to increase the likelihood of detecting higher AE incidence. Establishing such a framework would facilitate a more detailed and consistent approach across different studies and settings.

Project description:BackgroundThe limited circulation of many of the agents that are likely to be used in a bioterrorism attack precludes the ready availability of positive controls. This means that only specialized laboratories can screen for the presence of these agents by nucleic amplification assays. Calibrated controls are also necessary for quantitative measurements. Primers and probes to be used in both conventional and real-time PCR assays were designed for the detection of agents likely to be used by a bioterrorist. Three plasmids, each of which contains 4 to 6 specific sequences from agents on the CDC Category A and B list (excluding RNA viruses) were constructed. Two plasmids incorporate the sequences of Category A and B agents, respectively. The third plasmid incorporates sequences from Variola major and organisms that cause rash-like illnesses that may be clinically confused with smallpox. An "exogenic sequence", introducing a NotI restriction site was incorporated in the native sequences of the bioterrorism agents inserted in plasmids. The designed molecular system for detection of bioterrorism agents was tested on each of these agents (except Monkeypox virus, Smallpox virus and 2 Burkholderia species for which no native DNA was available) and a collection of 50 isolates of C. burnetii using constructed plasmids as positive controls.ResultsDesigned primers and probes allowed molecular detection, in either single or multiplex assays, of agent-specific targets with analytical sensitivities of between 1 and 100 DNA copies. The plasmids could be used as positive controls. False-positive results due to contamination by the positive control were easily detected by sequencing and eliminated by digestion with NotI.ConclusionPlasmid A and B can be used as positive controls in molecular assays for the detection of bioterrorism agents in clinical specimens or environmental samples. Plasmid C can be used as a positive control in differentiation of vesicular rashes. It is also possible to avoid or to ensure immediate detection of false positive results due to contamination by positive controls using these plasmids. These plasmids and the corresponding primers and probes are immediately available for all clinical microbiology laboratories provided they have molecular amplification equipment.

Dataset Information

Bioterrorism: An analysis of biological agents used in terrorist events.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Bioterrorism: An analysis of biological agents used in terrorist events.

Similar Datasets

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