Glossary

A combination of all the strengths and resources available within a community, society

or organization that can reduce the level of risk or the effects of a disaster. Comment:

Capacity may include physical means, institutional abilities, societal infrastructure as

well as human skills or collective attributes such as leadership and management.

Capacity also may be described as capability. (ISDR)

Effective and useful survival. Business continuity is a biological and psychological

imperative for individuals ("instinct of survival") and an economic and cultural

imperative for communities, at least at local level (see also "social capital"). The

imperative can be less evident and weaker once one moves to the national level. It is

by definition weak in "new" or "fragile states", and in short-lived institutions, especially

in trans-cultural ones. It needs to be fostered by strong leadership, team building, clear

An infectious disease, also known as undulant fever, characterized by rising and

lowering (undulant) fever, sweating, muscle and joint pains, and weakness. Brucellosis

is caused by the bacterium Brucella, which can be transmitted in unpasteurized milk

from cattle, sheep, and goats; cheese made from this unpasteurized milk; and contact

with diseased animals. Antibiotics are used to treat Brucellosis. Brucellosis is

Bioterrorism threat category B.

A toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum that is the most poisonous

biological substance known. Botulinum toxin acts as a neurotoxin. It binds to the nerve

ending at the point where the nerve joins a muscle, blocking the release by the nerve

of the chemical acetylcholine (the principal neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular

junction), preventing the muscle from contracting. The result is weakness and paralysis

of the muscle. The muscle atrophies. The blockage of acetylcholine release is