Bioterrorism is not a distant threat that could worry us in twenty years. It has occurred throughout history and continues today. As recently as 1996, an Ohio man with ties to an extremist group was able to obtain cultures of bubonic plague through the U.S. Postal Service (Danzig & Berkowsky, 1997). Over the past month, several people in the United States have been infected with anthrax. As it stands, America is unprepared for a large-scale biological weapons attack, and as we continue our “War on Terror,” the likelihood of such an attack increases every day. Terrorists can use three primary methods to most effectively deploy a biological agent in the United States: 1) airborne to target humans, 2) contamination of water supplies, and 3) airborne to target crops. Once these strategies have been evaluated, we must evaluate and implement effective responses to an attack depending on the dispersal methods used. Airborne Dispersion Targeting Humans The most likely method of bioterrorism is aerial dispersion of biological agents against humans. Given the right weather conditions, an infectious cloud can have drastic consequences on a metropolitan population. Experts estimate that aerosolized spores of Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) released from a plane two kilometers upwind of a population center of 500,000 people could travel more than 20 km and disable or kill 220,000 people (Franz et al, 1997; Danzig & Berkowsky, 1997). The aerosol release would remain virtually unnoticed until symptoms developed in the population over the next three days. Bacillus anthracis spores, which are able to survive adverse environmental conditions, can live in the pond... middle of paper... must absolutely be prepared for a biological attack. Works cited and consulted: Tane, W; Renner, Sara (1999). Biological warfare agents as threats to drinking water. Environmental Health Perspectives 107(12):975-83.Gdansk, R; Berkowsky, P (1997). Why should we care about biological warfare? JAMA 278(5):431-2. Franz, D; McClain, D; Pavlin, J. (1997). Clinical recognition and management of patients exposed to biological agents. JAMA 278(5):399-409.Kadlec, R; Zelicoff, A (1998). Doctors and biological warfare agents. JAMA 279(4):273-4.Rogers, P; Whitby, S; Dando, M. (1999). Biological warfare against crops. Scientific American 280(6): 70-5.USDA (2000). The threat of intentional introduction of foreign animal diseases into the United States. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ep/avma/villard.html.