UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Bioterrorism Agents & Diseases: Category B & C

Keywords: Bioterrorism, infectious diseases (PubMed Search)

Posted: 11/20/2014 by Jon Mark Hirshon, PhD, MPH, MD
Click here to contact Jon Mark Hirshon, PhD, MPH, MD

Background: As noted in a previous pearl (November 5, 2014), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies potential bioterrorism agents into three categories. Category B & C agents are of less priority than the previously discussed Category A agents.

Category B: Second highest priority agents. These agents:

are moderately easy to disseminate;
result in moderate morbidity rates and low mortality rates; and
require specific enhancements of CDC's diagnostic capacity and enhanced disease surveillance.

These Agents/Diseases include:

•Brucellosis (Brucella species)

•Epsilon toxin of Clostridium perfringens

•Food safety threats (e.g., Salmonella species, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Shigella)

•Glanders (Burkholderia mallei)

•Melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei)

•Psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci)

•Q fever (Coxiella burnetii)

•Ricin toxin from Ricinus communis (castor beans)

•Staphylococcal enterotoxin B

•Typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii)

•Viral encephalitis (alphaviruses [e.g., Venezuelan equine encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis, western equine encephalitis])

•Water safety threats (e.g., Vibrio cholerae, Cryptosporidium parvum)

Category C agents: Third highest priority agents. These include emerging pathogens, such as hantavirus and Nipah virus, which could be potentially engineered for mass dissemination in the future.

Bottom Line: While in general of less concern, bioterrorism agents in Category B & C remain of significant risk. Many of these diseases still occur in various parts of the globe including the United States.

References

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/agentlist-category.asp