Bioterrorism

Are You Afraid? Testing Our World Through the Eyes of a Bio-terrorist

Location: Art Gallery • Time: 1:30-2:30 PM

Bioterrorism is the intentional use of biological agents or biologically derived agents against individuals or property in an attempt to coerce or intimidate governments or societies to achieve political, religious or ideological objectives. Dissemination is the intentional spread of biological agents through air, water, food, inanimate objects or direct injection. For Biology 291- Scientific Inquiry: Bioterrorism, research teams were asked to study weaknesses in our society that could be potential targets for bioterrorism and design dissemination experiments. We used Bacillus thuringiensis spores as a safe alternative for Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, a category A disease. Four groups conducted research into spore survival on food, dissemination at public events, and removal of spores by air filters. Methods included: applying spores to lemon and cantaloupe to determine spore/vegetative cell survival over time, studying the spread pattern of spores using a scaled model to simulate the release of contaminated confetti at a large-scale event, investigating spore contamination of tyvek wristbands and cutaneous transfer efficiency, and determining the spore trap efficiency of medium HVAC and surface loading filters using an air duct model. In this session we will be discussing the results of our studies and societal implications.