Bioterrorism Resources: How to Get Information
This interactive section of the RTNDF Journalist’s Guide to Covering Bioterrorism is made possible with support from BellSouth Corporation. Outside links will open in a new window.
Government, International, and Public Health Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Web site: http://www.cdc.gov
Phone: 1-800-311-3435
Media Relations: 404-639-3286
Media Relations web site: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/
Additional information on bioterrorism: http://www.bt.cdc.gov
Specific information on hoaxes and rumors relating to biological weapons: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/Tox/biologicalwarfare.htmwww.cdc.gov/hoax_rumors.htm
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
(U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Has extensive information on drug preparedness (vaccines, antibiotics) for a bioweapons attack.
Web site: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drugprepare/ Chemical and Biological Defense Programs
(U.S Dept. of Energy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Information on detection and decontamination.
Web site: http://www.pnl.gov/chembio/ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Web site: http://www.fema.gov National Disaster Medical System
(U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)
This web site is aimed at disaster responders, public health officials, emergency managers and practitioners.
Web site: http://ndms.dhhs.gov National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A division of NIH, NIAID has its own useful web site with information on biological weapons and defensive measures.
Web site: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/biodefense/ National Institutes of Health
Web site: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/Tox/biologicalwarfare.htmwww.nih.gov
NIH has good information and links on biological weapons agents at the National Library of Medicine site: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/Tox/biologicalwarfare.htm World Health Organization
Biological weapons (which WHO refers to as "deliberate epidemics")
Web site: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/Tox/biologicalwarfare.htmwww.who.int/csr/delibepidemics/en/
Media Center web site: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/Tox/biologicalwarfare.htmwww.who.int/mediacentre/en/ Return to Top
U.S. Military Sources
Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP) Agency
Provides information on anthrax including: why anthrax is a threat, what the anthrax vaccine is, what the vaccine does, history of anthrax and a facts vs. myths section.
Web site: http://www.anthrax.osd.mil
CBIAC (Chemical Warfare/Chemical Biological Defense Information Analysis Center) CBIAC serves as the Defense Department's focal point for CW/CBD technology. It collects, reviews, analyzes and summarizes information and provides a searchable database for authorized users and links to many other CW/CBD related sites.
Web site: http://www.cbiac.apgea.army.mil Defense Technical Information Center
DTIC is the central Department of Defense facility for the exchange of scientific and technical information.
Web site: http://www.dtic.mil Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
DTRA consolidates a variety of Defense Department functions to deal with threats posed by WMD.
Web site: http://www.dtra.mil U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center
The Army's principal R&D center for chemical and biological defense technology, engineering and service.
Web site: http://www.edgewood.army.mil U.S. Army Homeland Defense
Web site: http://hld.sbccom.army.mil U.S. Army Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Program
Web site: http://hld.sbccom.army.milwww.pmnbc.army.mil U.S. Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System
Web site: http://hld.sbccom.army.milwww.geis.ha.osd.mil Return to Top
Academic Institutions & Nonprofit Organizations
Center for Biosecurity (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center)
Web site: http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org
Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (University of Minnesota)
Good information and links on infectious diseases and bioweapons.
Web site: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu Center for Nonproliferation Studies (Monterey Institute of International Studies)
Claims to be the world's largest non-government organization devoted to combating the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Chemical and biological weapons resource page.
Web site: http://cns.miis.edu/research/cbw Center for the Study of Bioterrorism & Emerging Infections (St. Louis University)
This center produces an excellent set of "Fact Sheets" about different potential biological weapons.
Web site: http://www.bioterrorism.slu.edu Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute
Nonprofit corporation established to promote arms control and nonproliferation, with a special focus on elimination of chemical and biological weapons.
Web site: http://www.cbaci.org Chemical Biological Database
The Joint University of Bradford-SIPRI Chemical and Biological Warfare Project provides information on the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and related issues.
Web site: http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/sbtwc Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Project
This project serves as a problem-solver and an information clearinghouse in the general subject areas of CB treaties, chemical demilitarization (especially in Russia), CB terrorism and related areas. Sponsored by The Stimson Center, Washington, DC.
Web site: http://www.stimson.org/cbw Federation of American Scientists, Chemical & Biological Weapons Arms Control Program
Web site: http://fas.org/bwc Harvard Sussex Program on CBW Armament and Arms Limitation
The Harvard Sussex Program is an international program of research and communication to promote the global elimination of chemical and biological weapons and to strengthen the constraints against hostile uses of biomedical technologies.
Web site: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/hsp Infectious Diseases Society of America
Bioterrorism information and resources.
Web site: http://www.idsociety.org/BT/ToC.htm Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Information on actual and potential uses of chemical and biological weapons.
Web site: http://projects.sipri.se/cbw Return to Top
Books
"America's Achilles' Heel: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Terrorism and Covert Attack (BCSIA Studies in International Security)"
By Richard A. Falkenrath, Robert Newman and Bradley Thayer. Paperback. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1998.
"Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World-Told From the Inside by the Man Who Ran It"
By Ken Alibek with Stephen Handelman. New York: Random House, 1999. "Biological Weapons Defense: Principles and Mechanisms for Infectious Diseases Counter-Bioterrorism (Infectious Disease)"
By Luther Lindler, Frank Lebeda, George Korch, editors. Humana Press, 2004. "Biosecurity: Limiting Terrorist Access to Deadly Pathogens"
By Jonathan B. Tucker. U.S. Institute of Peace, 2003.
Online report, downloadable in pdf format at http://www.usip.org/pubs/peaceworks/pwks52.html "Bio-Terrorism: How to Survive the 25 Most Dangerous Biological Weapons"
By Pamela Weintraub, Paul Rega. Citadel Trade, 2002. "Bioterrorism and Public Health: An Internet Resource Guide"
By John G. Bartlett, Tara O'Toole, Thomas V. Inglesby, Mair Michael. Thomson Healthcare, 2002.
This is a list of 500 web sites from U.S. government sources. May be slightly out of date. "The Cobra Event"
By Richard Preston. New York: Random House, 1998.
Fictional but highly detailed and fact-based account of a bioterrorism attack involving a fabricated agent. President Bill Clinton considered it so important he convened a panel of experts and increased the federal budget for research on defenses against biological weapons after reading it. "Combating Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Terrorism: A Comprehensive Strategy: A Report of the CSIS Homeland Defense Project"
By Frank J. Cilluffo, Sharon L. Cardash and Gordon N. Lederman. Paperback. Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2001. "The US Armed Forces Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Survival Manual"
By Dick Couch (Compiler), John Boswell. New York: Basic Books, 2003. "The Survival Guide: What to Do in a Biological, Chemical, or Nuclear Emergency"
By Dr. Angelo Acquista. Paperback. New York: Random House, 2003.
From the medical director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Emergency Management, this is a step-by-step guide to protecting oneself in large-scale emergencies. "The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story" By Richard Preston. New York: Random House, 2002.
A detailed account of smallpox and its potential danger as a biological weapon. "Facing the Unexpected: Disaster Preparedness and Response in the United States"
By Kathleen Tierney, Michael Lindell and Russell W. Perry. John Henry Press, 2001. "First Responder Chem-Bio Handbook"
By Ben Venzke. Tempest Publishing, 1998.
A hands-on approach for those who will need to deal with emergency situations, covering signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, decontamination and precautions. "Germs" By Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg and William Broad. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
Written by three New York Times reporters, this book details the dangers of biological weapons and contends that they are not as difficult to make and distribute as some others claim. "Jane's Chem-Bio II Handbook"
By Frederick R. Sidell, William Patrick and Thomas Daschle. Spiral-bound. Jane's Information Group, 2002. The original version was considered the professional standard since 1998, and it has been reissued in a new edition in September 2002. Written by top experts in the field and used by many federal, state and local law enforcement, fire and emergency responders. "Living Terrors"
By Michael T. Osterholm and John Schwartz. New York: Delacorte Press, 2000. "The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political: Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruptions"
By Robert David Steele. OSS International Press, 2002. "Weapons of Mass Destruction : The No-Nonsense Guide to Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons Today"
By Robert Hutchinson. Cassell Academic, publication in April 2004. "PDR Guide to Biological and Chemical Warfare Response"
By John G. Bartlett (Editor), David Sifton. Medical Economics, 2002. Paperback. "Preparedness for the Deliberate Use of Biological Agents: A Rational Approach to the Unthinkable"
World Health Organization, Geneva, May 2002.
Available for download at: http://www.who.int/emc/pdfs/WHA_TerrorismW.pdf "Public Health Response to Biological and Chemical Weapons: WHO Guidance"
2nd edition, World Health Organization, 2003.
Available for download (draft version) at: http://www.who.int/csr/delibepidemics/biochemguide/en/index.html "Saddam's Bombmaker: The Terrifying Inside Story of the Iraqi Nuclear and Biological Weapons Agenda"
By Khidr Abd Al-Abbas Hamzah, et al. New York: Scribner, 2000. "When Every Moment Counts: What You Need to Know About Bioterrorism from the Senate's Only Doctor"
By Bill Frist. Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. "21st Century Bioterrorism and Germ Weapons-U.S. Army Field Manual for the Treatment of Biological Warfare Agent Casualties (Anthrax, Smallpox, Plague, Viral Fevers, Toxins, Delivery Methods, Detection, Symptoms, Treatment, Equipment)"
By U.S. Department of Defense. Ring-bound. Progressive Management, 2001.
This is the manual currently used by U.S. Armed Forces Medical Services to respond to any biological weapons use. Return to Top
CD-ROMs
"2002 Bioterrorism After the Anthrax Attacks: Complete Revised Guide to Biological Weapons and Germ Warfare-Anthrax, Smallpox, Medicines, Treatment, Preparedness, White House, Homeland Security, CDC, HHS, FDA, NIH, Military Manuals"
Washington, D.C: U.S. Government, Progressive Management, 2002.
This updated CD-ROM contains 12,415 pages of documents.
"21st Century Complete Guide to Bioterrorism, Biological and Chemical Weapons, Germs and Germ Warfare, Nuclear and Radiation Terrorism: Military Manuals and Federal Documents With Practical Emergency Plans, Protective Measures, Medical Treatment and Survival Information"
Washington, D.C: U.S. Government, Progressive Management, 2001.
This comprehensive CD-ROM contains over 30,000 pages in 146 documents (occupying over 600 MB) from all major federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, U.S. Army, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), EPA, and GAO. Gives detailed, practical and current information on the NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) threat. Descriptions of biological and chemical agents, history, agent delivery methods, environmental detection, prevention, military equipment and civilian emergency plans. "Bioterrorism Awareness Training"
Center for Food Security and Public Health, Iowa State University
Contains in-depth PowerPoint presentations and fact sheets on CDC category A, B, and C potential bioterrorism agents.
Web site: http://www.vetmed.iastate.edu/services/institutes/cfsph/ProductList/resources_cdrom.htm
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