BEIJING (China Daily/ANN): The novel coronavirus in Wuhan has caused nationwide alarm and prompted some people to claim it is a biochemical attack, writes Li Daguang, a researcher at the National Defence University of the People's Liberation Army.
Although the source of the pathogen remains unclear; a seafood market where wild animals were butchered and sold is suspected. However, the possibility of another source earlier than the market cannot be ruled out. Yet that does not mean the virus outbreak is a biochemical attack on China.
Any government, including Chinese government, should be alert to such risks and ready to counter any such attack. For this, it is necessary for people to have a basic understanding of biochemical warfare and epidemics. Biochemical weapons have been severely condemned by the international community and gradually banned.
Because of their potential wide dissemination and impacts on public health and morale, as well as public stability, the high risk to national security of anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, tularemia, and viral haemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola and Lassa are listed Category A bioterrorism agents/diseases by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By establishing biological defence security in the new era, people can increase their awareness of precautions. Industries and fields that play a significant role in national security, national economy, people's livelihood and public health should be strictly managed.
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