Among the different subjects discussed at the hearing in the High Court, in my testimony I raised the issue of terrorism, and my concern about terrorists introducing measles into a country like England.

Unlike smallpox, measles is extremely easy for a terrorist to obtain and use as a biological weapon.

Biological terrorism is nothing new. In fact there have been allegations that the British people themselves used smallpox as a biological weapon against the Native Americans in the 18th century by deliberately exposing its troops to a mild form of the virus.

Is it possible that terrorists will bring measles into United Kingdom? I think yes. This is because most people, including terrorists, are aware of the fact that in the United Kingdom, the measles vaccination rate is below 85%. If that percentage continues to fall then British children will be an easy target.

Terrorists can easily enter England with clothing infected with measles. With all of the terrorist activity in this world you should consider the possibility that your unvaccinated child can die or become permanently scarred from measles.

While you're walking in the city with your unvaccinated child, how will you know if the person you're standing next to is wearing clothing infected with measles? You will not.

People forget that in the United Kingdom and before the development of the measles vaccine, thousands of children had severe illnesses from measles, and sometimes this resulted in permanent disabilities. In underdeveloped countries, the disease still kills 1,000,000 children each year.

Note of interest: Dow Chemical and the Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology is currently developing vaccines from genetically engineered plants, a science known as Transient Gene Expression (TGE). TGE is well suited for responding to bioterrorism (for example with smallpox) because it has a very short cycle time. A new candidate vaccine can be ready for testing in a matter of weeks to months, rather than the years that competing technologies require. Administration can be as easy as eating a bowl of salad.