John Bartlett and bioterrorism.

Until 1997, the subject of bioterrorism was not discussed within the medical community and deliberately ignored in national planning efforts. Biological weapons were regarded as " morally repulsive." This complacency stemmed from a 1972 BiologicalWeapons Convention where all countries agreed to cease offensive biological weapons research. In the 1990s, however, the Soviet Union was discovered to have an extensive bioweapons program and a Japanese religious cult sought to launch an anthrax attack on Tokyo. Biological weapons such as smallpox and anthrax had the potential to cause a national catastrophe. However, little was done until John Bartlett in 1997 led a symposium and program to educate the medical community and the country of the need for definitive bioweapons programs. It was highly persuasive and received a final stimulus when the anthrax attack occurred in the United States in 2001.