Historical Context
Emerging Threats
Science
Policy
100
The Geneva Protocol of 1925 was a response to the use of chemical weapons during this global conflict.
What is World War I?
100
The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced concerns that the rapid spread of emerging diseases could be exploited by bad actors in the form of this kind of attack.
What is a biological attack or bioterrorism?
100
The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) was created to improve international cooperation in preventing, detecting, and responding to these events.
What are infectious disease threats?
100
In 1949, the Geneva Conventions were updated to include protections against inhumane treatment in war, including a ban on this kind of experimentation.
What are biological/human experiments?
200
This 1972 treaty, referred to as the BWC, prohibits the development, production, and stockpiling of biological weapons but lacks a formal verification mechanism.
- What is the Biological Weapons Convention?
200
This terrorist organization, cited in multiple reports, attempted to obtain and weaponize biological agents such as anthrax between 1999 and 2001.
What is al-Qaeda?
200
This genetic sequencing project, which provided the first complete human genome, has had unintended consequences by enabling the study and potential weaponization of pathogens.
What is the Human Genome Project?
200
This 2014–2016 epidemic in West Africa, declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO, highlighted weaknesses in global disease response.
What is the Ebola outbreak?
300
In the months following the September 11 attacks, U.S. government officials and media organizations were targeted with letters containing this lethal biological agent.
What is anthrax?
300
The WHO has emphasized the need for stronger surveillance since biological attacks often appear identical to these events.
What are naturally occurring disease outbreaks?
300
The WHO has warned that advances in synthetic biology could make it possible to recreate extinct viruses or design these entirely new biological threats.
What are engineered pathogens?
300
The BWC prohibits the development of biological weapons but does not ban this type of government program, designed to defend against bioterrorism.
What are biodefense programs?
400
The Eastern European Group (EEG), a regional bloc within the BWC, is currently coordinated by this country.
What is Turkmenistan?
400
Some experts fear that non-state actors could gain access to biological agents through poorly secured labs, increasing the risk of this kind of event.
What is a laboratory breach or theft of pathogens?
400
This gene-editing technology, has raised concerns about its potential misuse in developing biological weapons.
What is CRISPR?
400
This index, launched in 2019, assesses national preparedness for biological threats but has been criticized for failing to predict weaknesses exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is the Global Health Security Index (GHSI)?
500
This international organization, abbreviated as UNODA, oversees disarmament treaties, including those that prohibit biological weapons.
What is the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
500
Intelligence reports indicate that some terrorist organizations have attempted to weaponize pathogens to carry out this type of attack, which aims for mass casualties and social disruption.
What is asymmetric warfare?
500
Advances in computational biology and AI-assisted genetic sequencing have increased concerns about this emerging risk, where dangerous pathogens can be engineered from digital data.
What is de novo pathogen synthesis?
500
The World Bank's Pandemic Preparedness Fund helps low-income nations improve these key aspect of public health infrastructure to handle disease outbreaks.
S___________ & E_____ D________
What is surveillance and early detection?