[Hazards, threats and risks: lessons from the past to a defensive attitude for the future]

Since ever infectious diseases have been a major hazard for the armed forces in operations. Nowadays our nations are facing the threat of terrorism, including bioterrorism. This threat is much more related to the potential disorganization of the society than to the lethal effects of the agents. Biological weapons are considered more like terror weapons than like mass destruction weapons, hence the importance of preparing specific defence measures. The know-how acquired from the struggle against natural infectious diseases is a useful help to face the biological weapon threats and risks. Likewise, the defence attitude is based on three pillars: anticipating, managing, and restoring. This military as well as civilian defence attitude applies to six important functions: (1) alert, (2) detection, diagnosis and identification, (3) medical countermeasures (drugs, vaccines and sera), (4) medical care in hospital, (5) training and information, (6) research and development of dedicated technologies.