Clear international standards should regulate such trade. Such regulations would entail bans on certain activity, such as the sale of pathogenic microorganisms to individuals not associated with legitimate research institutions not with the assumption that the ban would be enforceable, but to clearly delineate acceptable conduct. The main focus of the regulations, though, would be reporting requirements for the sale or transfer of potentially dangerous cultures, genetic material, or equipment. An international organization would maintain the records of such transfers. While export controls, international treaties and inspection protocols, protective suits, and vaccines all play a role in defense against biological weapons, none of these can eliminate the threat entirely.
Biological weapons are in essence a medical problem, and thus require a medical solution.
The ultimate goal of bio-defense is to prevent suffering and loss of life. If biological weapons have minimal impact on the well-being of their targets, they are ineffective and thus cease to be a threat. Therefore, we must concentrate on developing appropriate medical defenses. Pretreatment consists largely of vaccines but also includes certain drugs that can be administered before exposure to prevent disease. It is known precisely what biological agents are in the enemy s biological weapons arsenal, or the number of possible agents has been narrowed down to a few, since it is impossible to vaccinate or provide drugs against dozens of agents simultaneously.