The influence of anxiety: September 11, bioterrorism, and American public health

Contemporary American responses to the threat of bioterrorism represent a mixture of familiar and novel themes in the history of public health. As in previous eras, bioterrorism preparedness raises questions about microbial transgression of borders, civil liberties, and the place of biomedical and surveillance technology in public health. However, bioterrorism also presents an historically specific assemblage of risks and responses, illustrating larger changes in the contours of American public health and its place in global society. More historical inquiry into bioterrorism is urged.