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Bioterrorism

  • Bioterrorism Home
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  • Bioterrorism For Health Professionals

Related Topics

  • Illness Acquired From Animals
  • Infectious Disease Reporting
  • Infection Control
  • High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID)

Bioterrorism

  • Bioterrorism Home
  • Bioterrorism Diseases
  • Bioterrorism For Health Professionals

Related Topics

  • Illness Acquired From Animals
  • Infectious Disease Reporting
  • Infection Control
  • High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID)
Contact Info
Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division
651-201-5414
IDEPC Comment Form

Contact Info

Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division
651-201-5414
IDEPC Comment Form

Bioterrorism Diseases

Bioterrorism agents can be separated into three categories, depending on how easily they can be spread and the severity of illness or death they cause. Category A agents are considered the highest risk and Category C agents are those that are considered emerging threats for disease.

Category A

These high-priority agents include organisms or toxins that pose the highest risk to the public and national security:

  • Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
  • Botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin)
  • Plague (Yersinia pestis)
  • Smallpox (variola major)
  • Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)
  • Viral hemorrhagic fevers (filoviruses [e.g., Ebola, Marburg] and arenaviruses [e.g., Lassa, Machupo])

Category B

These agents are the second highest priority:

  • Brucellosis (Brucella species)
  • Epsilon toxin of Clostridium perfringens
  • Food safety threats (e.g., Salmonella species, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Shigella)
  • Glanders (Burkholderia mallei)
  • Melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei)
  • Psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci)
  • Q fever (Coxiella burnetii)
  • Ricin toxin from Ricinus communis (castor beans)
  • Staphylococcal enterotoxin B
  • Typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii)
  • Viral encephalitis (alphaviruses [e.g., Venezuelan equine encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis, western equine encephalitis])
  • Water safety threats (e.g., Vibrio cholerae, Cryptosporidium parvum)

Category C

These third highest priority agents include emerging pathogens that could be engineered for mass spread in the future:

  • Emerging infectious diseases such as Nipah virus and hantavirus

Chemicals

  • Cyanide

Tags
  • bioterrorism
Last Updated: 10/05/2022

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