Risques bactériologiques

Terrorist use of bacteriological weapons is a conceivable possibility regarding the last past year's international events. In contrast to chemical attacks characterized by sudden impact, bacteriological weapons would lead to progressive illness outbreak due to incubation period, eventually accentuated by secondary person-to-person transmission. This dynamic procedure implies that medical staff, particularly emergency physicians, should be aware of clinical characteristics associated with such bacterial infections. Recognition of the first cases is crucial in order to initiate prophylactic procedures to protect health care workers and populations from contamination. Most of these infectious diseases are unusual in France, so that a bacteriological attack should be suspected as soon as two concomitant cases in a broad geographical area are diagnosed, notably when clinical presentation is atypical. In this chapter, we will deal with main bacteriological organisms features known to be putative candidates for such biological weapons.