Bioterrorist Attack, Stages, and Aftermath

Abstract

A biological emergency essentially comprises three overlapping stages. In the preattack stage, a terrorist acts to acquire a biological weapon with the intent of using it against a target population in order to gain some perceived benefit. In the attack stage, the terrorist activates the deployed biological weapon. In the attack management stage, casualty presentation, triage, treatment, epidemiological and police investigation, and possibly quarantine occur. A detailed discussion of each stage is provided.