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Interpol Chief Warns of Lack of Bioterror Readiness
Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble warned yesterday that the international community has failed to ready itself to respond to an act of bioterrorism, Reuters reported (see GSN, March 3). Noble said there are serious risks of a biological attack from a terrorist group such as al-Qaeda and that drills have uncovered holes in preparedness. “The threat of bioterrorism is real ... and the damage that terrorists seek to inflict on us defies one's imagination,” he said. “Al-Qaeda's global network, its proven capabilities, its deadly history, its desire to do the unthinkable and the evidence collected about its bioterrorist ambitions, ominously portend a clear and present danger of the highest order.” Law enforcement and public health officials must work more closely together to ensure preparedness for an attack, Noble said. “The potential consequences of such an attack could be so far reaching that a lack of action … poses an unacceptable risk,” Noble said. Poor readiness tests were of a particular concern, he added. “We as a world community did not fare well in any of these exercises or any other exercise conducted to test our preparatory and response abilities to a biological terrorist attack” (Reuters/New York Times, Nov. 21).
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