What is Bioterrorism?A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. These agents are typically found in nature, but it is possible that they could be changed to increase their ability to cause disease, make them resistant to current medicines, or to increase their ability to be spread into the environment. Biological agents can be spread through the air, through water, or in food. Terrorists may use biological agents because they can be extremely difficult to detect and do not cause illness for several hours to several days. Some bioterrorism agents, like the smallpox virus, can be spread from person to person and some, like anthrax, can not.
www.bt.cdc.gov/bioterrorism/overview.aspBioterrorism Agents/Diseases
A
Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
Arenaviruses
B
Bacillus anthracis (anthrax)
Botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin)
Brucella species (brucellosis)
Brucellosis (Brucella species)
Burkholderia mallei (glanders)
Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis)
C
Chlamydia psittaci (psittacosis)
Cholera (Vibrio cholerae)
Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism)
Clostridium perfringens (Epsilon toxin)
Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
E
Ebola virus hemorrhagic fever
E. coli O157:H7 (Escherichia coli)
Emerging infectious diseases such as Nipah virus and hantavirus
Epsilon toxin of Clostridium perfringens
Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli)
F
Food safety threats (e.g., Salmonella species, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Shigella)
Francisella tularensis (tularemia)
G
Glanders (Burkholderia mallei)
L
Lassa fever
M
Marburg virus hemorrhagic fever
Melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei)
P
Plague (Yersinia pestis)
Psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci)
Q
Q fever (Coxiella burnetii)
R
Ricin toxin from Ricinus communis (castor beans)
Rickettsia prowazekii (typhus fever)
S
Salmonella species (salmonellosis)
Salmonella Typhi (typhoid fever)
Salmonellosis (Salmonella species)
Shigella (shigellosis)
Shigellosis (Shigella)
Smallpox (variola major)
Staphylococcal enterotoxin B
T
Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)
Typhoid fever (Salmonella Typhi)
Typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii)
V
Variola major (smallpox)
Vibrio cholerae (cholera)
Viral encephalitis (alphaviruses [e.g., Venezuelan equine encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis, western equine encephalitis])
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (filoviruses [e.g., Ebola, Marburg] and arenaviruses [e.g., Lassa, Machupo])
W
Water safety threats (e.g., Vibrio cholerae, Cryptosporidium parvum)
Y
Yersinia pestis (plague)
www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/agentlist.asp