Bioterrorism typical

The preceding discussion focuses on the ability of individual clinicians to detect and recognize infectious processes that may be related to a bioterror event. To a certain extent, this relies on the art of clinicians— their expertise and clinical detective skills, which will clearly vary among practitioners. A number of electronic systems have been developed that provide diagnostic decision support to clinicians. Typically, these... 

The CDC has focused its efforts on four pathogens that are potential bioterrorist agents Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, and South American VHP viruses. None of these is native to the United States, so an outbreak that epidemiologists cannot link to travel must raise suspicion of bioterrorism. Although person-to-person spread through the inhalational route in a typical outbreak situation is not common, a bioterrorist-released aerosol could cause an outbreak through inhalational exposure. 

B. anthracis typically is susceptible to penicillin, amoxicillin, erythromycin, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, and chloramphenicol. The bioterrorism-related strain was susceptible to the fluoroquinolones, rifampin, tetracycline, vancomycin, imipenem, meropenem, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, and the aminoglycosides. However, the strain was resistant to third-generation cephalosporins and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Ciprofloxacin or doxycycline plus one or two of the aforementioned antibiotics is the currently recommended regimen for the treatment of inhalational anthrax, but doxycycline is not recommended for the treatment of anthrax meningitis owing to poor CNS penetration and recent in vitro resistance. ... 

The most distinct bioterrorism-patterned natural epidemics are typically those concerned with water- and food-borne infectious gastroenteritis, stemming from... 

Overall, about 400 toxins have been identified, which are certainly but a small proportion of what is actually found in nature. Out of this remarkable inventory, several are reckoned as typical bioterrorism agents. Presented here are few prominent toxins two protein toxins (botulinum and SEE)—hence detectible and treatable by anti-toxins—and three non-protein toxins (T-2 toxin, aflatoxin and aconitine), hence hardly detectable or treatable by antidotes. Etiological diagnosis of toxins is often extremely complicated. 

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