Smallpox scenario would be deadly.
WASHINGTON: (Newsday) — Public health infrastructures in Canada and the United States, in their current states, would be devastated by a "high impact" bioterrorism event in which the attacker used modern germ technology, according to some government officials.
A scenario role-played by public health experts from both countries using smallpox as the biological agent left 15,000 people dead over a period of two months, and 80 million dead within a year, primarily because of insufficient vaccine supplies. The scenario was explored in a day-long exercise attended by more than 1,000 public health leaders, part of a two-day seminar on the issue of potential biological warfare. The seminar follows the announcement from President Bill Clinton that $158 million (U.S.) is being allocated for research and preparedness in bioterrorism defense.
