To address the risk of bioterrorism, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug for the treatment of smallpox, an acute contagious viral disease that was declared eradicated in 1980, but could still be reintroduced into the environment at a time of conflict.
“To address the risk of bioterrorism, Congress has taken steps to enable the development and approval of countermeasures to thwart pathogens that could be employed as weapons,” Scott Gottlieb, the FDA commissioner, announced on 13 July.