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Biological agents are infectious microbes or toxins used to produce illness or death
in people, animals, or plants. Biological agents can be dispersed as aerosols or
airborne particles. Terrorists may use biological agents to contaminate food or
water because they are extremely difficult to detect. Chemical agents kill or incapacitate
people, destroy livestock or ravage crops. Some chemical agents are odorless and
tasteless and are difficult to detect. They can have an immediate effect (a few
seconds to a few minutes) or a delayed effect (several hours to several days). Were
a chemical agent attack to occur, authorities would instruct citizens to either
seek shelter where they are and seal the premises or evacuate immediately.
Exposure to chemical agents can be fatal. Biological agents are organisms or toxins
that have illness-producing effects on people, livestock, and crops. Because biological
agents cannot necessarily be detected and may take time to grow and cause a disease,
it is almost impossible to know that a biological attack has occurred. If government
officials become aware of a biological attack through an informant or warning by
terrorists, they would most likely instruct citizens via the Emergency Alert System
(EAS) to either seek shelter where they are and seal the premises or evacuate immediately.
A
person affected by a biological agent requires the immediate attention of professional
medical personnel.
Some agents are contagious, and victims may need to be quarantined. Biological and
chemical weapons have been used primarily to terrorize an unprotected civilian population
and not as a weapon of war. This is because of fear of retaliation and the likelihood
that the agent would contaminate the battlefield for a long period. The Persian
Gulf War in 1991 and other confrontations in the Middle East were causes for concern
in the United States regarding the possibility of chemical or biological warfare.
While no incidents occurred, there remains a concern that such weapons could be
involved in an accident or be used by terrorists. More information on Bioterrorism
preparedness and response is available online from the Department of Health and
Human Services Center for Disease Control.
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