At a briefing Wednesday afternoon, retired Air Force Colonel Randall Larsen expressed his concerns regarding the notion that many senior leaders are oblivious to the serious threat posed by bioterrorism today.
“The serious threats that we will face in the coming decade are not going to come from bullets, tanks and missiles. They’re going to come from infectious disease,” Larsen told the Senate Appropriations Committee. “They are going to come from mother nature - we know that for a fact.”
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that they have further invested in an ongoing national cooperative agreement with World Health Organization to support preventive measures for a global influenza pandemic.
“We must develop faster diagnostic capabilities,” said Larsen. “These will be no regret investments.”