The anthrax attacks of 2001 and more recently the threat of avian influenza demonstrate that infectious diseases — whether natural or manmade — pose a significant hazard to international peace and security.
Sandia’s Reynolds Salerno — a biosecurity expert and manager of the Labs’ International Biological Threat Reduction department — concedes that while the threat today is relatively low, it will increase over time. “The worry for me is that the threat will escalate as it becomes easier and easier and less and less expensive for people to misuse biology,” he said. “Today, there is a large technical hurdle for terrorists to overcome to use biological weapons successfully. But in the next five to 10 years, the height of that hurdle will be significantly lower.”
The irony that advancing biotechnology, while improving the health and well-being of millions, also could increase the risk of intentional misuse hasn’t escaped Salerno. He believes that over time there will be more bioscience facilities and more bioscientists and technicians — globally — with the necessary technical skills to misuse biology.