Defence against bioterrorism

This report examines health-related issues concerning the risk of a terrorist attack employing biological agents. At the request of the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Health Council appointed a Committee to consider the nature of the threat posed by bioterrorism, and to examine means of defence against this threat. The Committee draws attention to the open character of Dutch society, which renders the ’importation’ of pathogens a relatively simple undertaking.

Furthermore, given the high degree of mobility and of urbanization in the Netherlands, such agents would readily be able to make their effects felt. The Committee therefore considers there to be a realistic risk, although there has been little experience with terrorist attacks employing biological agents to date.