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Combating Terrorism: Observations on Biological Terrorism and Public Health Initiatives

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date March 16, 1999
Report No. T-NSIAD-99-112
Subject
Summary:

The mass casualties resulting from a terrorist attack using biological weapons to spread anthrax, smallpox, and other deadly diseases could potentially overwhelm the U.S. health care system. This testimony focuses on federal efforts to invest in medical countermeasures and preparedness initiatives, one of the few areas in which national security and public health issues clearly intersect. GAO (1) briefly discusses intelligence agencies' judgements about the terrorist threat, (2) highlights the importance and benefits of threat assessments to provide a sound basis for targeting the nation's investment in combating terrorism, (3) provides preliminary observations on the science behind the biological and chemical terrorist threat, and (4) provides observations on public health initiatives that deal with a new national pharmaceutical stockpile and the basis for selecting items to research, product, procure, and stockpile for civilian defense against terrorism.

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