How likely is it that biological agents will be used deliberately to cause widespread harm? Policymakers and scientists need to take seriously the possibility that potential pandemic pathogens will be misused

Thomas V Inglesby; David A Relman

doi:10.15252/embr.201541674

How likely is it that biological agents will be used deliberately to cause widespread harm? Policymakers and scientists need to take seriously the possibility that potential pandemic pathogens will be misused

EMBO Rep. 2016 Feb;17(2):127-30. doi: 10.15252/embr.201541674. Epub 2015 Dec 18.

Authors

Thomas V Inglesby¹, David A Relman²

Affiliations

¹ Center for Health Security, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA University of Pittsburgh Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
² Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, and Medicine, and Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Abstract

The fact that biological weapons have never been used—at least in recent history—is not sufficient reason to dismiss concerns that terrorists or nations could acquire and use dangerous pathogens as weapons. The ongoing discussion about gain‐of‐function experiments should take this very real prospect more seriously.

MeSH terms

Biomedical Research / legislation & jurisprudence
Biomedical Research / organization & administration
Biomedical Research / standards*
Bioterrorism / legislation & jurisprudence
Bioterrorism / prevention & control*
Pandemics / prevention & control*
Risk Management / legislation & jurisprudence
Risk Management / methods*
Risk Management / organization & administration