The Tribune

THE threat of a bioterrorist attack occurring anywhere in the world is “real” and should be taken seriously by all countries, said National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage.

This includes small-island states such as the Bahamas, he added.

Addressing the opening session of a three-day workshop at police headquarters on crisis management and a simulation exercise on bioterrorism, Dr Nottage said: “There is much evidence to suggest that terrorists have a strong interest in the use of biological weapons (as) detained terror suspects have in the past, declared that their organisations are capable of using, and will use, these biological weapons such as Anthrax in 2001.

“Police raids around the world have also revealed the intentions of such groups through the seizure of manuals relating to the production and use of various biological weapons.

“There is no question in my mind that the threat is real. A single bioterrorist attack can cause hundreds, or even thousands, of deaths.

“It can annihilate entire states such as our very own. Moreover, even if the hundreds or thousands do not die, the fear, panic and subsequent social and economic disorder that could follow such an attack are additional reasons why we should take this threat seriously,” Dr Nottage said yesterday.

Dr Nottage said the continued expansion of the biotechnological industry throughout the world also adds to an increased potential for a bioterrorist attack as new pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi or other micro-organisms that can cause disease) and ideas that drive their creation, are quickly multiplying, as a result of that expansion.

“While we do not dispute the work of these biotechnology industries, we must be conscious of the fact that the expansion of these industries also increases the chances that terrorists will grasp any opportunity to get their hands on these pathogens and their methods of production.”

Dr Nottage said the emergence of “synthetic genomics” from simple chemical blocks over the past few decades has also “elicited concerns” about the potential misuse of this technology for harmful purposes.

“In 2002, scientists at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York, recreated the polio virus from scratch, based on its published genetic sequence.

“When this synthetic virus was injected into mice to demonstrate that it was active, the animals soon became paralysed and then died.

“This demonstration prompted fears that terrorist organisations might exploit the same technique to synthesise more deadly viral agents such as the smallpox virus, as biological weapons,” Dr Nottage added.

The National Security Minister said since then, “legitimate scientists” have recreated other pathogenic viruses in the laboratory, including a SARS-like virus and the formerly extinct strain of influenza virus responsible for the 1918-19 “Spanish Flu” pandemic which was estimated to have infected one-third of the world’s population, while killing three to five per cent.

“Many still question whether the threat exists or can occur, especially in our part of the world,” Dr Nottage said.

“There is no question in my mind that the threat is real.”