Autoimmune Disease - An umbrella term for a range of conditions in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in the body.⏎
Category A Agents - A class of biological agents that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention views as posing the highest priority risk to U.S. national security.⏎
Chronic Disease - Any disease that is long lasting (3 months or more) or recurrent—as opposed to an acute disease—and cannot be prevented by a vaccine or cured by medication.⏎
Bioterrorism - The deliberate release of a virus, bacterium, or other biological agent to cause illness and death in people, animals, or plants.⏎
Adaptive Mutation - A mechanism through which certain cells can increase the rate in which genetic mutations occur, often in response to stress. This mechanism may help explain how bacteria develop resistance to certain antibiotics.⏎