Biological Weapons Defense: Infectious Disease and Counterbioterrorism

ISBN-13: 9781588291844 / Angielski / Twarda / 2004 / 598 str.

Luther Lindler; Frank Lebeda; George Korch

Opis

In 2003, the President's budget for bioterrorism defense totalled more than $5 billion. Today, the nation's top academic scientists are scrambling to begin work to understand Bacillus anthracis and develop new vaccines and drugs. However, just five years ago, only the US Department of Defense (DOD) seemed concerned about these "exotic" agents. In 1997, the DOD spent approximately $137 million on biodefense to protect the deployed force, while academe, industry, local governments, and most of our federal leadership was oblivious to, and in some cases doubtful of, the seriousness of the threat. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) received the largest budget increase in the organization's history. Fortunately, during this time of national urgency, a sound base exists on which to build our defenses against this new threat. A relatively small cadre of dedicated scientists within the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) laid this foundation over the past 20 years.

Recenzje

From the reviews:

"Acts of bioterrorism have not happened since the end of World War II except the distribution of anthrax spores in the US postal system in 2001 ... . This important book is dedicated and useful not only for governmental and public health workers but also for a broad group of readers up to practitioners who might come in contact with such events as the first ones." (Werner Köhler, International Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol. 295, 2005)

Spis treści

I. Preparation and Military Support for a Possible Bioterrorism Incident Department of Defense Capabilities Supporting Bioterrorism Response Anna Johnson-Winegar, Karl Semancik, Robert S. Borowski, Keith R. Vesely, Brenda Wyler, Matt Eussen, and John V. Wade Modeling for Bioterrorism Incidents Zygmunt F. Dembek Biological Weapons Defense: Effect Levels Ross D. LeClaire and M. Louise M. Pitt II. Medical Countermeasures and Decontamination Pathogenesis by Aerosol M. Louise M. Pitt and Ross D. LeClaire Bacillus anthracis and the Pathogenesis of Anthrax Dominique M. Missiakas and Olaf Schneewind Virologic and Pathogenic Aspects of the Variola Virus (Smallpox) as a Bioweapon Robert G. Darling, Timothy H. Burgess, James V. Lawler, and Timothy P. Endy Plague Vaccines: Retrospective Analysis and Future Developments Jeffrey J. Adamovicz and Gerard P. Andrews Medical Protection Against Brucellosis David L. Hoover and Richard H. Borschel Pathogenesis of and Immunity to Coxiella burnetii David M. Waag and Herbert A. Thompson Glanders: New Insights Into an Old Disease David M. Waag and David DeShazer Medical Countermeasures for Filoviruses and Other Viral Agents Alan Schmaljohn and Michael Hevey Medical Defense Against Protein Toxin Weapons: Review and Perspective Charles B. Millard Antimicrobials for Biological Warfare Agents Jon B. Woods Nonspecific Immunomodulator Therapy: CpG D. G. Cerys Rees, Arthur M. Krieg, and Richard W. Titball Decontamination Robert J. Hawley and Joseph P. Kozlovac III. Emerging Threats and Future Preparation Definition and Overview of Emerging Threats Luther E. Lindler, Eileen Choffnes, and George W. Korch Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections System Programs in Biodefense Julie A. Pavlin and Patrick W. Kelley Information Resources and Database Development for Defense Against Biological Weapons Frank J. Lebeda, Murray Wolinsky, and Elliot J. Lefkowitz Genomic Efforts With Biodefense Pathogens Rekha Seshadri, Timothy D. Read, William C. Nierman, and Ian T. Paulsen Genomics for Biodefense: Exploiting the Francisella tularensis Genome Sequence Siv G. E. Andersson, Mats Forsman, Petra C. F. Oyston, and Richard W. Titball Genetic Fingerprinting of Biodefense Pathogens for Epidemiology and Forensic Investigation Luther E. Lindler, Xiao-Zhe Huang, May Chu, Ted L. Hadfield, and Michael Dobson Yersinia pestis as an Emerged Pathogen: What Lessons Can Be Learned? Luther E. Lindler IV. Diagnostic Development for Biowarfare Agents Requirements for Biological Threat Identification Systems Erik A. Henchal and George V. Ludwig DNA-Based Diagnostic Tests for Detection and Identification of Biological Weapons Luther E. Lindler, David Norwood, Michael Dobson, and Ted L. Hadfield Concepts for the Development of Immunodiagnostic Assays for Detection and Diagnosis of Biothreat Agents George V. Ludwig, Cynthia A. Rossi, and Robert L. Bull Index

Blurb

The release of nerve gas in the Tokyo subways, the spread of biological weapons, and the anthrax attack of 2001 in the United States demonstrate that not only is the threat of such menacing weapons real, but also that we must urgently prepare to deal with future acts of bioterrorism. In Biological Weapons Defense: Infectious Diseases and Counterbioterrorism, prominent experts in biodefense research-many from the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases-authoritatively delineate the universe of scientific, medical, and legal issues facing the biodefense research community. Regarding medical countermeasures and decontamination, the authors review the facts about both the aerosol route of infection and decontamination processes, and fully describe the pathogenesis and treatment of a variety of established pathogens (anthrax, plague, smallpox, Brucellosis, glanders, and Coxiella burnetii). They also examine how to discover the presence of these agents, or other previously unknown biological weapons, and the ongoing efforts to counter such agents, including proteomic and genomic analysis as a gateway to better diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccinations, genotyping, and forensics. Additional chapters discuss the development and use of technology to identify and characterize these infectious organisms and their emerging threats.
Comprehensive and authoritative, Biological Weapons Defense: Infectious Diseases and Counterbioterrorism provides researchers, physicians, and policymakers with a sound basis for understanding not only the diseases caused by these infectious organisms, but also an appreciation of the universe of bioterrorism problems that must be mastered to develop effective countermeasures.