title: Bioterrorism: a laboratory who does it?
abstract: In October 2001, the first disseminated biological warfare attack was perpetrated on American soil. Initially, a few clinical microbiology laboratories were testing specimens from acutely ill patients and also being asked to test nasal swabs from the potentially exposed. Soon after, a significant number of clinical microbiology and public health laboratories received similar requests to test the worried well or evaluate potentially contaminated mail or environmental materials, sometimes from their own break rooms. The role of the clinical and public health microbiology laboratory in response to a select agent event or act of bioterrorism is reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA dcraft1@hmc.psu.edu.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Craft
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Public Health Laboratories-Jacksonville, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Public Health Laboratories-Jacksonville, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Marie-Claire
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Rowlinson
mesh_terms: D054045:Biological Warfare Agents; D023482:Bioterrorism; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003954:Diagnostic Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D054045:Biological Warfare Agents