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Experts lament lack of informed public debate on bioterrorism

December 11, 2001

Some misleading media reports about the threat from bioterrorism may be increasing the risk of widespread panic if an attack was to occur, a leading expert will warn at an open public meeting today (12 November). Scientists and journalists must work together to ensure that the public has an accurate understanding of the effects of biological agents such as anthrax, according to Professor Harry Smith, Emeritus Professor of Microbiology at Birmingham University, who chaired last year’s Royal Society study on biological weapons.

Professor Smith will be speaking about ‘Bioterorism: facts and fictions’ at a public meeting organised by the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) and the Royal Society. He will be joined by Dr Patricia Troop, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, and Professor Malcolm Dando, Professor of International Security at the University of Bradford.

Commenting on the UK’s readiness to deal with a bioterrorism attack Dr Troop will say:
“The UK has in place robust plans to deal with emergencies including biological terrorism. These have been extensively revised and reviewed since the events of the 11th September. A wide range of guidance has been made available to the field. In addition, recognising that this is an international problem, we have been working with colleagues in the US and Europe to ensure this is a truly international response.”

Meanwhile Professor Dando, will argue for a multifaceted ‘web of deterrence’ to prevent the development and use of biological weapons. However, he does not see that this can easily be achieved without a great deal more public understanding and political effort than is evident at the moment.

Professor Smith will go on to add that the risk from biological agents must be realistically assessed in light of recent anthrax attacks in the US: “As we have seen with the recent anthrax attacks, biological weapons are not proven to cause a large number of casualties, but still represent a wider threat through the panic that they can cause within the population. If the effects of biological agents are exaggerated beforehand, it is very likely that people will panic, regardless of whether they are directly affected. Therefore, it is essential that members of the public are provided with enough accurate information so that they can respond appropriately to the threat of bioterrorism.”

In contrast, Professor Dando believes that the threat from bioterrorism is greater than ever before: “I regarded effective biological terrorism causing mass casualties as a low risk before September 11th. There were two reasons. I thought that it was unlikely that any terrorist would have political reasons for wishing to cause mass casualties (moral constraint), and I thought it would be very difficult to do anyway (technical constraint).

“After September 11th it is not sensible to assume that the moral constraint still exists, however the technical constraint still does exist. The evidence we have from the major State offensive biological weapons programmes over the last century demonstrates that it is possible to use biological weapons to kill very large numbers of people, but that an enormous effort was required to achieve this capability. Our real problem today is that the biotechnology revolution is spreading a mechanistic biology around the world at a great pace and this may give malign people much easier ways to obtain effective biological weapons at precisely the time when asymmetric means of warfare are becoming more attractive because of the West`s overwhelming conventional/nuclear superiority in conventional and nuclear weapons.”

British Association for the Advancement of Science (The BA)