By Deborah Evans
The importance of broad-spectrum Biological Protection for the survival of mankind is becoming increasingly apparent. Ebola Virus, Hendra Virus, Nipah Virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Avian Influenza are just a handful of examples of pathogens recently causing or threatening widespread fatalities. They strike fear into the hearts of citizens and governments alike and for good reason… they have the potential to devastate lives, families, economies and destroy the social fabric of civil society. We are not immune from what we cannot see, and protection from biological threats is perhaps the most urgent human endeavour of the coming decades.
Biosecurity and Biodefence are co-dependant strategies sitting under the broader concept of biological protection. Biodefence is multi-faceted, consisting of multidisciplinary measures implemented at a national level to protect both civilian and combatant populations from biological threats. Although biodefence is often thought of as being exclusively the domain of government and military, its concepts have evolved beyond a fundamental objective of defending against biological attack. Progressive biodefence concepts incorporate protection from biological threats of a diverse nature, including those from naturally occurring, accidental and deliberate sources. Subsequently, biodefence concepts transcend military discourse and extend across disciplines and sectors. Such disciplines include security & law enforcement, intelligence, politics and governance, emergency management and national preparedness, the health sciences, agriculture, the environmental sciences, the life sciences as well as most of the technological fields and specialities…Click here to read full article.
