Wiley Handbook of Science and Technology for Homeland Security, 4 Volume Set

LIVESTOCK AGROTERRORISM AND THE POTENTIAL PUBLIC HEALTH RISK

WILLIAM D. HUESTON

Center for Animal Health and Food Safety and National Center for Food Protection and Defense, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota

STEPHAN SINGLETON

Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota

1 INTRODUCTION

“Agroterrorism” evokes images of sick and dying animals, forlorn farmers, and burning cow carcasses. The public health risks associated with agroterrorism are typically described as the spillover human illness associated with agroterrorism agents that are zoonoses (diseases shared by domestic animals or wildlife and humans), such as anthrax or cattle brucellosis, the human form of which is undulant fever. However, public health is more than simply the illness and death directly caused by infectious diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” [1]. The potential public health risks of livestock agroterrorism must be evaluated in this broader context.

Agroterrorism is the intentional use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive weapon or device against the nation's agricultural industries with the goal of generating fear, causing economic losses, and/or undermining social stability [2]. Livestock agriculture presents a comparatively easy target for intentional disease introduction. The widespread ...