Bioterrorism has now been defined as the intentional use of a pathogen or biological product to cause harm to a human, animal, plant or other living organisms to influence the conduct of government or to intimidate or coerce a civilian population(4). Biological agents are easy to develop as weapons, are more lethal than chemical weapons, are less expensive and more difficult to detect than nuclear weapons (5). Diseases caused by biological agents are not only a public health issue but also a problem of national security. Two simulated biological attacks, Dark Winter (small pox) and TOPOFF (plague), in the United States demonstrated serious weaknesses in the public health system that could prevent an effective response to bioterrorism or severe naturally occurring infectious diseases (6,7,8,9,10). The intentional dispersal of anthrax through the United States Postal Service that followed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, brought these issues into a clear focus. The United States government began a process to strengthen the public health infrastructure. The need for law reform was recognized as law has long been considered as an important tool of public health (11). The power to act to preserve the Public's Health is constitutionally reserved primarily to the states as an exercise of their police powers. Some states like Colorado and Rhode Island had developed legislation or administrative public health plans for a bioterrorism event prior to September 1, 2001. The Model Act was designed to update and modernize the state public statutes and to avoid problems of inconsistency, inadequacy and obsolescence. The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA or Model Act) was drafted by the Center for Law and the Public's Health at Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in collaboration with members of national organizations representing governors, legislators, attorneys general and health commissioners (4,12). This act provides state actors with the powers to detect and contain bioterrorism or a naturally occurring disease outbreak. The Model Act is structured to facilitate five basic public health functions i)
Preparedness, comprehensive planning for a Public Health emergency; ii)
Surveillance, measures to detect and track Public Health emergencies; iii)
Management of Property, ensuring adequate availability of vaccines, pharmaceuticals and hospitals as well as providing power to abate hazards to the Public's Health; iv)
Protection of Persons, powers to compel vaccination, testing, treatment, isolation and quarantine when clearly necessary; and v)
Communication, providing clear and authoritative information to the public. The act also contains a modernized, extensive set of principles and requirements to safeguard personal rights. Based on MSEHPA, legislative bills have been introduced in 34 states and the District of Columbia. As of June 26, 2002, 16 states and the District of Columbia already have enacted a version of the act and the states enacting or expected shortly to enact legislation, influenced by the Model Act were Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.
Overview of Potential Agents of Biological Terrorism | SIU School of Medicine
