Bioterrorism

By Abhay Kumar Shrivastava
September 2009
MD Publications
Distributed by
ISBN: 9788175332188

353 pages
$62.50 Hardcover

The world is largely unaware of, and therefore largely unprepared for, bioterrorist attacks. Bio-weapons threaten to create thousands of casualties in addition to other disastrous long-term consequences. Bioterrorism is the use of a biological weapon against civilian populations for the purpose of undermining morale and creating chaos.

Bioterrorism is inherently limited as a warfare tactic because of the uncontrollable nature of the agent involved. A biological weapon is useful to a terrorist group mainly as method of creating mass panic and disruption to a society. An effective biological weapon is potentially devastating and much easier to make and transport than a nuclear weapon. In many countries, criminal justice systems are constrained by inadequate legal frameworks governing the detection and repression of bio-weapons.

Frequently, no law is violated until the disease or biological agent is actually deployed. There is therefore an urgent need to ensure that countries are adequately prepared for; protected from, and able to respond to Bioterrorism attacks. Law enforcement agencies have a crucial role to play, with significant support from, and in collaboration with, a range of other national and international bodies