America's North Shore Journal

In a crowded store during the Christmas shopping rush, a man sneezes and does not cover his face. Early one morning, a sniffling woman wipes her nose with her fingers and then wipes it off on the subway pole she’s holding onto for support. A sweating, glassy eyed toddler is fussed over by its mother and several other travelers just outside the security gates at a large airport. America is under attack by bioterrorists. All of these scenarios and dozens more are evaluated every day by the men and women of numerous police departments, Homeland Security offices and the Public Health services nationwide. They all realize one important truth. We will not know we have been attacked until it is well underway. Illnesses have two time frames to consider. The first is the … Read entire article »

World At Risk, The Report of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism was issued on December 2, 2008. One of its conclusions was that the threat from bioterrorism was greater than that posed by either nuclear or chemical weapons of mass destruction. The Commission believes that unless the world community acts decisively and with great urgency, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013. The Commission further believes that terrorists are more likely to be able to obtain and use a biological weapon than a nuclear weapon. The Commission believes that the U.S. government needs to move more aggressively to limit the proliferation of biological weapons and reduce … Read entire article »