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Department of Homeland Security Bioterrorism Risk Assessment A Call for Change (2008) / Chapter Skim
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5 Risk Assessment for Unknown and Engineered Biothreat Agents
Pages 42-46

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From page 42...
... Discoveries in this area in the past few years have included the following: Most of this report deals with assessing bioterrorism risk and prioritizing risks associated with known biologi • Poxviruses with an IL-4 gene insert that can cause cal agents. However necessary the focus on risk associated severe disease in immunized or genetically resistant with known biological agents is, the committee strongly animals (Jackson et al., 2001)
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From page 43...
... . Since then, the George Church Laboratory at Harvard latter specifically recognizes the diversity of possible future University has devised microchips that could be used to syn- biological threats, both natural and engineered, and the need thesize even larger genomes with far less effort (Tian et al., for broad-spectrum solutions.
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From page 44...
... Although analyzing newly emerging threats may seem a INCLUDING UNKNOWN AND ENGINEERED daunting task, it actually appears to be quite feasible. While AGENTS IS CHALLENGING BUT POSSIBLE the number of all possible combinations of characteristics is There are several possible ways to deal with the unpre- enormous, it would not be necessary to deal with such vast dictable and dynamic future for both natural and engineered numbers of combinations in practice, because the analysis agents: would be limited to a number of key characteristics at rela tively broad qualitative levels.
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From page 45...
... 2005. "Mission Oriented Risk and Design Analy While engineered agents are by definition novel, an engi- sis of Critical Information Systems." Military Operations Research neered agent will likely be designed for a specific function.
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From page 46...
... 2007. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 18 on Biological Warfare and Biodefense." Biosecurity and Bioterrorism [HSPD-18]
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Key Terms

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  • bioterrorism risk
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  • newly recognized
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  • assessment tool
  • engineered agents
  • security presidential
  • presidential directive
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  • quantitative risk
  • risk model
  • influenza virus
  • critical information
  • pandemic virus

  • key characteristics
  • biodefense strategy
  • bacillus anthracis
  • gene insert
  • biological agents

  • influenza pandemic
  • poorly characterized
  • agents engineered
  • biological threats
  • fatality rate

  • threat assessment
  • dhs risk
  • characterized threats
  • qualitative levels
  • possibly unnecessary


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