Bioterrorism Anthrax Attack
Community & Public Health

Anyone doesn’t want to hear the words that there is a biological attack or even imagine one happening. Over the last decade the threat of bioterrorism has become a great concern around the world. These concerns have brought the attention to the government at all levels of defenses. The government broke the bio terrorism definition into two focuses. The first is attracted to biological weapon because they understand that pathogens would cause mass casualties on an unprecedented scale. Second other terrorists are attracted to unique feature of bioterrorism that have nothing to do with the internal psychological impact of biological weapon. There are times that when the biological attack happens and they are not against the government, but against a religion political, ecological, or many other ideological. A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other germ to cause illness or death. These agents can be found in nature but also can be made by humans, which increases the ability to cause disease, spread or medical treat. These biological agents are spread through air, water, and in food. These agents are hard to detect because a person won’t show signs until several hours after or sometimes days after they come in contact with the agent. Many people worry that these agents like anthrax, bothulism, smallpox and a few others will be used as a biological agent. Anthrax is called bacillus anthracis that is a gram-positive rod bacteria. When a person comes in contact with the anthrax they will become very ill but not right away. The way a person can be infected by anthrax is when the small spores enter the body and spread throughout the body. The spores can enter the body by breathing in the spores, in the food they eat or in the water. Anthrax is mostly found in the soil and commonly affects domestic and wild animals. According to the CDC anthrax is the most likely to be used because the spores are easily found in nature, produces in a lab and can last for a longtime in the environment (CDC, 2013). Anthrax makes for a good biological weapon because it can be released without anyone knowing and can be made into powders, sprays, food or water (CDC, 2013). Anthrax was use in 2001 in the United States through the U.S. mail. This attack killed five people and seventeen others were treated for anthrax. The government along with the federal government classified anthrax at a Tier 1 because it has great risks. The reason for the Tier 1 is because anthrax could cause mass casualties or can cause devastating effect on the economy, critical infrastructure or public confidence and poses a sever threat to the public health and safety (CDC, 2013). Anthrax could take many forms. The attack with anthrax many groups respond from medical, public health works and law enforcement. The medical and public health worked at all levels of the government local, state, federal, CDC and local public health communities. These groups investigate the anthrax attack by look at all cases, finding the source and recommend treatment. These groups help with evaluation of people, counseling, antibiotics, provision, collection and sampling of the environmental. The local response to anthrax was the first to respond to the attack without even knowing that they were under attack. Once the local found out that they were being attack by a biological agent they would have to confirm, and the public health