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Preparing for Bioterrorism

October 15, 2001
Despite a handful of anthrax exposures, most public health officials are relatively confident that a large-scale bioterrorism disaster is a long shot.

It's extremely difficult to cultivate and spread a bioagent in just the right form and just the right quantity to do much damage, various experts say. Here are some highlights:

The Water Supply

While it's not a bad idea to have bottled water on hand, the likelihood of terrorists contaminating the public water supply is far-fetched. Water moves through the system in such massive quantities that any contaminant would most likely be so diluted that it would have no effect, officials said. If contamination were to occur, it would be picked up almost immediately as the public water supply is monitored constantly and is heavily chlorinated, a process that kills most biological agents. All things considered, the public water supply is safer than bottled water since it is more closely monitored.

How About Gas Masks?

Most experts consider these next to useless. First of all, the masks must be airtight to be effective. Most masks available to the public are not. Second, even if the mask was airtight, it would be necessary to wear it 24 hours a day to be fully protected, something that's nearly impossible. The chances of being close enough to be affected by a release of airborne biotoxins are virtually nil, most experts agree.

What About Vaccinations & Antibiotics?

There are vaccines to protect against smallpox and anthrax, the two most likely biotoxins. But there are problems with each. In the case of smallpox, the vaccine supply is limited and mounting a mass vaccination effort would take months. Although the anthrax vaccine is required for many members of the military, it has a number of unpleasant side effects and a mass vaccination would probably cause more illness than it would prevent.

As for antibiotics, their massive use would almost certainly cause more problems than it would solve, by creating new disease strains that are resistant to antibiotics.

The Best Advice?

Most public health officials recommend that Americans go about their daily business without worrying about bioterrorism. Few consider it to be a major threat on a nationwide scale.

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