Commentary: Public Health and Civil Liberties in an Era of Bioterrorism

Safeguarding the public\u27s health, safety, and security took on new meaning and urgency after the attacks on the World Trade Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001. The subsequent intentional dispersal of anthrax through the U.S. postal system resulted in five confirmed deaths, hundreds treated, and thousands tested. The potential for new, larger, and more sophisticated attacks have created a sense of vulnerability. National attention has urgently turned to the need to detect and react rapidly to bioterrorism as well as to naturally occurring infectious diseases