Appendix: PHEMCE High-Priority Threats
The U.S. continues to face a range of serious threats to its health security from naturally occurring, accidental, and deliberate use of CBRN agents, as well as naturally occurring EIDs, including pandemic influenza.
PHEMCE High-Priority Threats
The PHEMCE will continue to address MCM needs to protect against high-priority threats. These may be determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security to pose a sufficient material threat to affect national security or determined by PHEMCE leadership to have the potential to threaten national health security. The PHEMCE high-priority threats are (in alphabetical order by threat area):
Biological Threats
- Bacillus anthracis (anthrax)* and multidrug resistant B. anthracis (MDR anthrax)*
- Burkholderia mallei (glanders)* and Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis)*
- Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism)*
- Ebolavirus (Ebola hemorrhagic fever)*
- Emerging infectious diseases
- Francisella tularensis (tularemia)*
- Marburgvirus (Marburg hemorrhagic fever)*
- Pandemic influenza virus
- Rickettsia prowazekii (typhus)*
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV) (including SARS-CoV-1 and -2)*
- Variola virus (smallpox)*
- Yersinia pestis (plague)*
Chemical Threats
- Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor nerve agents*
- Chlorine
- Cyanide salts (potassium and sodium cyanide)*
- Hydrogen cyanide*
- Pharmaceutical based agents (including opioids)*
- Phosgene
- Vesicants*
Radiological and Nuclear* Threats
- Radiological and nuclear agents*
(*) Indicates an identified material threat under section 319F-2(c)(2)(A)(ii) of the Public Health Service Act.