Disease surveillance and response: Update on the Biological Weapons Convention

At a meeting in Geneva in December 2004, the member States of the Biological Weapons Convention discussed disease surveillance and response in the context of alleged use of biological weapons, disease outbreaks deemed 'suspicious' and naturally occurring outbreaks. The meeting itself had no mandate to direct States to undertake specific actions regarding these issues. However, the discussions indicated that the problem of biological weapons may be shifting away from the traditional arms control paradigm and towards broader notions of disease-based threats to national and international security. In an era of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, security analysts are beginning to recognise that strong public health surveillance and response mechanisms are vital defences during disease outbreaks, whether deliberately caused or of natural origin.