ATLANTIC STORM: EXERCISE ILLUMINATES TRANSATLANTIC LEADERS REACTIONS TO BIOTERROR ATTACK

Center for Biosecurity of UPMC - Bioterrorism, Biodefense, Public Health Preparedness ATLANTIC STORM: EXERCISE ILLUMINATES TRANSATLANTIC LEADERS REACTIONS TO BIOTERROR ATTACK

What would world leaders do if they were faced with a bioterrorist attack on cities around the world? How would they react to a fast-moving and deliberately caused epidemic? These questions were raised last week in Wasington, DC at Atlantic Storm, a table-top exercise that simulated a smallpox attack on the nations of the transatlantic community. The ministerial bioterrorism exercise was presented by the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Center for Transatlantic Relations of Johns Hopkins University, and the Transatlantic Biosecurity Network.

The scenario presented to the participants was the simultaneous outbreak of smallpox in several cities: Istanbul, Frankfurt, and Rotterdam, with attacks in the U.S. surfacing later in the day. It was made clear early on that the disease had been spread deliberately, and a terrorist group claimed responsibility for the action.