As fears of a follow-up terrorist attack spread across the nation, experts warn that bioterrorism could be the next weapon in the terrorist arsenal.

And they say the question is not if it will happen, but when and where.

Though bioterrorism can take many forms, Robert Wallace, an expert in biological warfare, said people have become more concerned with the ground-transported threat.

Anthrax threats

Wallace, professor of biology at Ripon College in Ripon, Wis., said anthrax is the most likely biological killer terrorists might use.

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, www.cdc.gov.

Only 1 billionth of a gram of anthrax, the size of a speck of dust, is lethal, he said.

“Anthrax is naturally occurring in soils,” Wallace said. “Any decent microbiologist could isolate and grow up a supply.”

The difficulty of delivering the supply is a major detriment, he said.

“You would have to be able to grow it, place it in spores and deliver it,” Wallace said, “all without becoming infected yourself.”

But people who don’t mind the risks and will die for their cause are out there, he said.

Smallpox virus

A second possible threat is the smallpox virus, Wallace said. It would be much more difficult, though not impossible, for a terrorist to acquire the smallpox virus, he said.

Smallpox is a viral disease unique to humans. It survives by passing among people, spread by the inhalation of air droplets or aerosols, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.

“The United States still has samples of the virus at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga.,” Wallace said. “Although, I don’t think you would be able to get a hold of it if you wanted to.”

He said he knows of an incident regarding a man who used to work at the center who left and began working for Iraq.

“There was speculation as well as concern that he may have stolen a vial,” Wallace said. “It is my gut instinct that no one walked off with anything.”

The vials have been counted, he said, and the right people know if anything is missing.

“Although I am not sure that we would know if anything were missing,” Wallace said, “It would cause too much of a panic to release that kind of information.”

Wallace thinks the United States used the stored amount of the virus to develop a vaccination to quell a possible outbreak.

Wallace said he had heard of the development of smallpox and anthrax weapons that could be lobbed into the United States on intercontinental missiles by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He is aware of the existence of an unknown amount of the smallpox virus at the Russian Academy of Sciences institute for viral research in Moscow.

“Although the supply of smallpox may be available, it is very difficult to get a hold of, and even more difficult to do significant damage with,” Wallace said.

An attack on life

Helen Jensen, ISU professor of economics, is a member of the National Research Council’s Committee on Biological Threats to Agricultural Plants and Animals. She said she isn’t positive what the exact threat to plants and animals is at this time, but she said terrorists could try to harm the United States’ food supply.

“We are not as prepared as we would like to be, but the level of awareness is now higher,” Jensen said.

Wallace and Jensen said they believe Americans are already being terrorized just by the concern about the possibility of these events taking place.

“The terrorists are not trying to destroy our infrastructure,” Wallace said. “What they want to do is stop the way we do business.”

The Sept. 11 tragedy took lives and shook the economy, he said, but that was not the terrorists’ main goal.

“What it really did was stop people from living normal lives,” Wallace said.

The threat of bioterrorism is causing people to go out and buy gas masks, stockpile antibiotics and alter the way they lead their normal lives.

“You can’t wear a gas mask 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Wallace said. “Besides that, who’s to say a gas mask will be helpful anyway?”

He said most people don’t know the particulars of wearing a mask, and if the mask is old, doesn’t fit right or is worn improperly, it is ineffective.

But despite this fact, Ames residents are stocking up.

Marshal Toms, employee at Ames Surplus, 4723 Lincoln Way, said its gas masks have been sold out since Sept. 14.

“We have 50 on the way, all of which are spoken for,” he said, “and another 50 people [are] on a list who want one.”