Bioterrorism update--information for the dentist.

The United States was awakened to the perils of bioterrorism in October 2001 with the news that letters laced with anthrax had been mailed to the media and select politicians. At that time, it became evident that a widescale attack using a bioweapon of mass destruction could rapidly overwhelm the health care system. Dentists could make a tremendous contribution to the response of such an attack by gaining an understanding of the bioweapons that could be used, as well as the symptoms of their diseases and therapies for treatment. This article gives a general overview of the biological agents that terrorists are most likely to use and provides the dentist with information about how to contribute to an effective response in the event of such an attack.