Bioterrorism by Dr. Abhay Kumar Shrivastava

Disguisting Face of Future. The world is largely unaware of, and therefore largely unprepared for: bioterrorist attacks. Bio-weapons threaten 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 terrorist group mainly as a method of creating mass panic and disruption to a society. An effective biological weapon is potentially devastating and much easier to make and transport that 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 ate 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.