Overview

In 2001, the United States suffered from a bioterrorist anthrax attack. The US government recognized that it was unprepared to respond to such bioterrorist attacks. This monograph will argue that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides robust biodefense support to the Department of Defense (DOD). Bioterrorist agents, like anthrax, are easily accessible and inexpensive weapons of mass destruction and may be highly favored by terrorist organizations. Given the dramatic expansion of terrorism in both Africa and Middle East, it is not a question of whether terrorists will attack the United States again, but when and how. Since 2001, the VA has instituted several biodefense strategies. However, the White House report on the VA has recently criticized agency leadership, which may conceivably render VA's current emergency preparedness process unsuitable to support the DOD and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a future bioterrorist attack. This monograph proposes several ways to enhance VA's biodefense capabilities to provide proper support to the DOD and the DHS. In addition, VA can also use its network of facilities to conduct surveillance of imminent endemic of infectious diseases. Based on these findings, the monograph concludes that the VA can play a very important supportive role in DOD's biodefense program. Section One will provide a history and overview of global biological weapons usage and the anthrax threat, including bioterrorism's inherent characteristics and the connection between terrorism and human diseases. It will also provide an overview of the most likely Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) Category A, bioterrorist agent anthrax. Because the focus of this monograph is on the strategy of biodefense rather than the tactical details of countermeasures against the myriad of bioagents, anthrax will be the archetype bioagent typified for discussion and illustration. The clinical properties of anthrax and the capabilities of currently available diagnostic and therapeutic interventions will also be examined. Section Two will examine the current US bioterror strategy and policy, including risks to the United States. Section Three will explore the VA's role in the biodefense strategy. Section Four will conduct some analysis in order to discuss from a VA's perspective. In addition, Section Four will introduce specific recommendations that would enable the VA rectify the root cause of the current biodefense gap and employ its institutional resources more efficiently and effectively to support the DOD and the DHS in a future anthrax attack on the United States. Section Five will provide the conclusion.

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9781520754079

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