Contrarily, in the case of overt action, this release is immediately noticed and may even be announced. An infected person may search for medical care, possibly at a distance from the release area. The first sign of the spread is the occurrence of sick individuals, that may unknowingly be infecting others. In the case of covert action, this release remains unannounced and concealed, going unnoticed for days or even weeks. 1Ī large number of cases of acute flaccid paralysis with prominent bulbar palsies, suggestive of a release of botulism toxin.Īn intentional release of a given biological agent can constitute either a covert or an overt action. Besides the differences between forensic investigations and epidemiological studies in terms of protocols and objectives, it is our opinion that the investigations of the sources of outbreaks fall in the domain of MF due to the shared aim of determining the source of the microorganisms involved ( Fig. Therefore, the application of reliable and robust surveillance protocols for pathogen monitoring would provide valuable information to distinguish between the spontaneous and harmful spread of microorganisms (i.e., related to biowarfare- BW, bioterrorism - BT, or biocrime - BC). If incidental, it can be either intentional or due to medical malpractice. The dispersion of pathogens can be either natural or incidental. Nonetheless, in our opinion, these two topics are fundamental to MF. Traditionally, neither pathogens’ outbreak monitoring nor toxicology is regarded as MF topics. This field has applications in a multitude of forensic casework scenarios, including bioterrorism, biocrime, fraud, outbreaks and transmission of pathogens, or accidental release of a biological agent, and/or a toxin. Scientists within the field of MF endeavor to detect, identify, and trace the origin (i.e.: assigning to a source) of life-threatening pathogenic agents (bacteria, viruses, and toxins).
Microbial forensics (MF or forensic microbiology) is a recent and forthrightly expanding multidisciplinary branch of research that lays its foundations upon classical sciences such as forensic genetics, microbiology, epidemiology, medicine, molecular, and evolutionary biology, , ].
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