Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Biological Detection

Abstract : A biological agent attack is the release of an aerosol of disease-causing organisms or biologically-derived materials into the atmosphere. Detecting such a release requires sophisticated technologies fashioned into operationally useful equipment. It is therefore critical for military operators and technologists to be able to communicate with each other in order to translate operational requirements into technical specification, on the one hand, and technical performance into operational capabilities on the other. Through a question and answer format, this paper attempts to lay out some of the intricacies of biological detection, in the hopes that better information flow between the operator and the technical communities will result in improved biological defense.