Bioterrorism: how should doctors respond to the threat of biological weapons?

Planning for the threat of a biological weapons attack includes preparations to recognize and identify an attack and its scale. Training is the key element of any response, but it is not possible for any health service to maintain sufficient extra capacity to deal with a massive bioterrorist threat. Training must include both first- and second-line responders. Subject to issues of confidentiality, information about plans should be as widely available as possible. Planning for prevention is also important. This should include stopping the production and dispersal of weapons under international humanitarian law and establishing the ethical basis on which doctors and scientists would not become involved in the production of biological and other weapons.