Ethical Challenges in Biodefense and Bioterrorism

The threat of a bioterrorist attack is very real and could occur in any country at any time. Today, various governmental agencies in the United States are engaged in biodefense preparedness and response. There is a great need, however, to address ethical challenges in biodefense. In this article, we present diverse bioethical issues associated with bioterrorism and propose various recommendations regarding how to address these challenges. Open Access Research Article 1Dr. Leitenberg is currently a Senior Research Scholar at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland. Special Issue.2013 J Bioterr Biodef ISSN: 2157-2526 JBTBD, an open access journal Biological weapons are as old as war itself. The ancient Hittites marched victims of plague into the cities of their enemies; Herodotus described archers firing arrows tipped with manure. By the 20th century, nearly every major nation developed, produced, and even used in battle a panoply of biological weapons including anthrax, plague, and typhoid [3]. *Corresponding author: John D. Loike, Center for Bioethics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA, E-mail: [email protected] Received November 15, 2012; Accepted January 15, 2013; Published January 21, 2013 Citation: Loike JD, Fischbach RL (2013) Ethical Challenges in Biodefense and Bioterrorism. J Bioterr Biodef S12:002. doi:10.4172/2157-2526.S12-002 Copyright: © 2013 Loike JD, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited. J o u r na l o f B iote rrorism&iodefe n s e ISSN: 2157-2526 Journal of Bioterrorism & Biodefense Citation: Loike JD, Fischbach RL (2013) Ethical Challenges in Biodefense and Bioterrorism. J Bioterr Biodef S12:002. doi:10.4172/2157-2526.S12002