Michael J. Rogers

“ Preventing either a natural epidemic or a bioterrorist attack is, unfortunately, unlikely. Therefore, the Nation's ability to rapidly and effectively respond in the face of a bio-security crisis must be a central pillar in our bio-security strategy. ”

“ Medicines and vaccines that can counter illnesses caused by exposure to bioterror agents are obviously an essential component of biodefense and would be critical to controlling the spread of contagious disease. ”

“ The materials and technical know-how needed to make a bio-weapon that could infect hundreds of thousands of people are already widely distributed around the planet, and the number of people who possess the expertise needed to create bioweapons is rapidly growing as biotechnology and pharmaceutical research and production expand into developing countries. ”