Emerging illness and bioterrorism: implications for public health.

Biological weapons have the potential to inflict deliberate, potentially devastating epidemics of infectious disease on populations. The science and technology exist to create deliberate outbreaks of human disease, as well as disease among plants and animals, crops, and livestock. A new awareness among policymakers of the link between public health and national security requires the attention of public health professionals. The issues posed by biological weapons are likely to challenge the political assumptions of many progressive public health professionals and will demand new coalitions. The prospect of bioterrorism may offer new opportunities for improving the public health infrastructure and its capabilities.