Plague as a Biological Weapon

This is the third article in a series entitled Medical and Public Health Management Following the Use of a Biological Weapon: Consensus Statements of the Working Group on Civilian Biodefense.1-2 The working group has identified a limited number of agents that, if used as weapons, could cause disease and death in sufficient numbers to cripple a city or region. These agents also comprise the top of the list of "Critical Biological Agents" recently developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).3 Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is one of the most serious of these. Given the availability of Y pestis around the world, capacity for its mass production and aerosol dissemination, difficulty in preventing such activities, high fatality rate of pneumonic plague, and potential for secondary spread of cases during an epidemic, the potential use of plague as a biological weapon is of great concern.

Be sure to see the "conclusion" section of this article; http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/283/17/2281