Biological agent attacks

National Research Council, Sensor Systems for Biological Agent Attacks Protecting Buildings and Military Bases, Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press, 2005. 

It is likely that with continued investment in research and development, it will be possible in the future to reduce the detection time for biological agent attacks below 1 hour, while maintaining or increasing the POD.10 A faster response time with high POD would increase the benefits of detection systems and the effectiveness of detection-based strategies. 

Federal response teams cannot be on site in time to save lives or treat victims. Local response personnel need, but cannot afford, the same assets and training as federal employees are now receiving. Haz-Mat mitigation is a local responsibility. Someone must be on scene at once to isolate the area of a chemical or biological agent attack, evacuate, and care for the injured and the dead, and deny further entry. Any and every chemical or biological attack will be a crime scene that has to be isolated and guarded. 

Biological agent attacks are quite different from those using chemical agents (Baker, 2005a) the release of biological agents is essentially a... 

A patient presumed to be a victim of biological agent attack until definitive diagnosis is made... 

Detection, warning, and identification involve sensors and transduction of a detected signal to a transponder. Standoff detectors provide early, wide-area spectroscope and warning of biological agent attack. 

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