Bioterrorism: New Technologies for Global Emergencies and Public Health

Abstract

Nowadays, the increasing number of unconventional biological attacks around the world, as well as innovative technologies and a larger availability of tools and materials, contribute to a wider expertise on dealing with devices and agents due to their inherent dual-use nature. This report focuses on modern technologies that offer proper protection against those attacks, in order to provide support in preventing and reducing their related risks. What is unprecedented in such attacks is the huge number of healthcare workers and first responders who have been infected or injured. The aim of this article is to propose a modern exploitation of advanced technologies in overcoming that lack of proper protection and in helping prevention and reduction of both risks and consequences for emergency teams through vehicles provided with innovative and integrated solutions for biohazard protection. The proposed solution is a new way to address global and public health emergencies, not only from natural and anthropogenic threats, but also from intentional and deliberated human actions as bioterrorism, moving the “operational protection” through a collective approach.