Atlas R M
Department of Biology, University of Louisville, KY 40292, USA.
Crit Rev Microbiol. 1998;24(3):157-68. doi: 10.1080/10408419891294280.
There is a heightened threat of biological weapons being used for biological warfare or bioterrorism. Many of the microorganisms and toxins that may be used as such biological weapons can easily be acquired and mass produced. Dissemination of aerosols of these biological agents can produce mass casualties. If used by a terrorist they may overwhelm our current public health system. Some biological agents, such as Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) and botulinum toxin, are considered far more likely than others to be used as biological weapons; smallpox virus was apparently produced in mass quantities by the former Soviet Union and may also be a serious threat. The release of such agents could go undetected for several hours or days and would be followed by mass illnesses and a first line of response by the public health community. Rapid epidemiological investigation to identify the nature of the disease outbreak would be critical for limiting casualties. For many, but not all, biological agents there are medical treatments that can greatly lower the mortality rate. There currently are, however, insufficient supplies of medicinals and trained personnel to cope with a massive bioterrorist or biological warfare use of biological weapons. Increasing our preparedness is critical.
生物武器被用于生物战或生物恐怖主义的威胁正在加剧。许多可能被用作此类生物武器的微生物和毒素很容易获取并大量生产。这些生物制剂气溶胶的传播可造成大量人员伤亡。如果被恐怖分子使用，它们可能会压垮我们当前的公共卫生系统。一些生物制剂，如炭疽芽孢杆菌（炭疽）和肉毒杆菌毒素，被认为比其他生物制剂更有可能被用作生物武器；天花病毒显然曾由前苏联大量生产，也可能构成严重威胁。此类制剂的释放可能在数小时或数天内未被察觉，随后会出现大规模疾病，公共卫生界将做出一线应对。快速进行流行病学调查以确定疾病爆发的性质对于减少人员伤亡至关重要。对于许多（但并非所有）生物制剂，都有可以大幅降低死亡率的医学治疗方法。然而，目前药品供应和训练有素的人员不足，无法应对生物武器被大规模用于生物恐怖主义或生物战的情况。加强我们的防范能力至关重要。
