Paradigm shift in developing countermeasures to biological and chemical threats

Developments in the continental United States (dissemination of Anthrax-contaminated items through the U.S. mail in October 2001) and on the international scene (emergence of Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region) have alerted the defense community to the real threat of biological and chemical agents to civilian and military populations. Current strategies have had a stove-piped appearance, with efforts directed towards the development of individualized communications systems, separate detectors for each threat agent, tradition-based vaccines, and antibiotics for post-event care delivery. What is needed is an integrated sensor alert system that can selectively and simultaneously detect all threat agents with little to no false positive/negative events, a seamlessly integrated communications network capability that enables the conversion of data to actionable information, and novel pre- and post-event treatments. New technologies required for an effective response to a biological or chemical attack include: multi-array sensors for threat agents; sensors for validating signatures of the host response to infection; a telemedicine system to deliver post-event care for up to 20,000 victims of a biological or chemical strike; an intelligent software network that permits meaningful resource allocations and redundant pathways that survive a catastrophic attack; and novel vaccines and restricted access antivirals/antibacterials to reduce the emergence of drug resistant strains pre- kind post-event. Multi-array sensor platforms and alert systems must permit rapid screening of many samples for the presence of signature molecules and be small and lightweight with low power requirements. Genomic sequences of threat agents naturally present in different global regions must be determined to permit attribution of an attack to the source of an agent. A communications system that allows for the integration of information on emerging disease, resource allocation inventory, public safety coordination, perimeter management and extended telemedicine care is yet to be realized. Databases that provide information on the normal distribution of naturally occurring threat agents and the normal incidence of diseases in communities must be established. These databases should be integrated into a sensor and communication system that will provide an early alert of a biological or chemical attack, and optimize consequence management actions to neutralize the impact of the attack. This sensor and communication strategy is critical to sustaining normal health, commerce and international activities.