This article shows you what to look for, and shows you that perhaps The Bioapocalypse has begun. You might think of nuclear weapons, but biological and chemical weapons are a cheaper and easier to obtain. A viral epidemic could wipe out millions of people in a matter of weeks. Biological weapons are easy and quick to make, many of these agents can be manufactured in a bathtub using pharmaceutical equipment that is readily available all over the world.
Chemical weapons take longer to produce, but kill much faster.
A single drop of sarin and VX, for instance, can kill in minutes. Infected people usually don't show symptoms for at least a few days after infection. Since people in Western nations travel a lot, the virus could potentially spread its devastation over a huge area. The newer viruses are proving extremely deadly. Over the past ten years there have been three viruses, besides AIDS, that have been in the news, Hantavirus, Ebola, and Anthrax.