Threats in bioterrorism I: CDC category A agents

There are many naturally occurring pathogens with characteristics and traits that make them suitable for development into biological weapons. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created a list of "Critical Biological Agents," and has placed each, pathogen into one of three categories: A, B, or C. "A" agents comprise a group of six pathogens whose intentional release into a population would cause grave harm to that population and place extraordinary stress on the medical and public health systems as responders attempt to manage the ensuing crisis. These six agents are discussed in this article.