Can Europe deal with bioterrorism?

An EU green paper on bio-preparedness is attracting attention from across the world. Judith Crosbie reports.

The change in the security climate since 11 September 2001 has broadened the debate on the type of threats that societies face and biological and chemical attacks are now an important consideration in counter-terrorism.

The fear now is that biological attacks might be intended to spread some kind of pandemic.

The ten cases of anthrax poisoning in the US just after the 2001 attacks were followed by a number of hoaxes in Europe which put law enforcement authorities on alert for this new kind of threat.

David Byrne, the then European commissioner for health, met European health and agriculture ministers and attended a ministerial meeting of the G7, the most industrialised countries, to discuss the need for better co-operation on preventing biological and chemical attacks.

Soon after, the European Commission published papers on how prepared the EU and its member states were for emergencies including bioterrorism. In 2003 came a Commission paper describing what steps member states and the Commission had taken against the deliberate release of biological and chemical agents. The paper looked at emergency plans, methods of stockpiling medicines, laboratories and experts involved in research.

There has, since June 2002, been a system of rapid alerts from member states for biological, chemical or radiation attacks and threats. Known as Ras-Bichat, it hooks up with alert systems on risks related to food and animal health security. This system also links up with international alert systems, such as that of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the central crisis co-ordination system, known as Argus, which lets the Commission know of emergencies in EU member states, including disease outbreaks or attacks.

The European Medicines Agency produced in 2002 a guide to treatment options to deal with diseases such as anthrax, plague, smallpox, Tularemia or ‘rabbit fever’, Viral Haemorrhagic Fever, Brucellosis, Glanders and Melioidosis. The guide has since been updated four times.

The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, set up in 2005, plays a role in the surveillance for diseases and preparedness for pandemics as a result of bioterrorism.

Since the foiled terrorism attacks in London in August 2005, when intelligence showed liquid explosives were to be used on airlines flying to the US, the Commission has looked at other ways of strengthening EU-level co-operation in non-traditional counter-terrorism.

In July the Commission published a green paper on bio-preparedness and sought input from interested parties on how to reduce biological risks and increase preparedness. "Although in the past terrorists used explosives or improvised explosive devices, they may in the future resort to non-conventional means such as biological weapons or materials," said Franco Frattini, EU commissioner responsible for justice, freedom and security. He said that complacency was to be avoided as the death toll and economic impact of such an attack could be much higher than in conventional terrorism.

Responses to the green paper have come not just from member states, but also from the WHO and governments of foreign countries such as the US and Japan - an indication of the global importance of bioterrorist attacks. The Commission intends to set up a public-private task force to discuss the recommendations and, following an analysis of the discussions, it will publish a communication next year. The paper should include a list of what measures exist to deal with the bio-terrorism threat and how they can be strengthened. It may also deal with improving how sensitive pathogens are stored in member states or a code of conduct for scientists involved in biological research to prevent proliferation of deadly materials.

An EU green paper on bio-preparedness is attracting attention from across the world. Judith Crosbie reports.