ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a concise overview of clinical and laboratory features of key pathogens with the potential for use in terrorist attacks.
A thorough discussion of pathogenesis of infection for each of these agents is beyond the scope of this text. Emphasis has instead been placed on strategies of diagnosis, therapy, and containment. Where relevant, special considerations such as pregnancy, infection in children, or immunocompromised hosts is included in the discussion of specific pathogens. The potential roles and impacts of these agents in the context of bioterrorism are discussed in detail in Chapter 9. While both this chapter and Chapter 9 focus on those agents of bioterrorism considered most likely, this chapter, in addition, includes brief discussions of several agents, for example
Coxiella burnetii
, the agent of Q fever, which have been identified as agents of concern but for which less is known about the specific scenarios they might cause in a biological attack.
