"Nothing engenders more fear than the thought that when you go outside you may encounter a deadly that will result in an agonizing illness followed by death. One should keep a sense of proportion. Thus far, at least, the agents of bioterrorism look rather puny is their impact. In terms of kill power, only about 10% of all deaths result from , either directly or indirectly. That means that, in a world of 6 billion people with an average life expectancy of 60 years, about 10 million people will die every year from an infectious disease. Currently the three major killers are the , tuberculosis, and malaria, which account for, respectively, 3 million, 2 million, and 1 million deaths per year. It should be noted that none of these is considered an agent of bioterrorism and that bioterrorism events have never resulted in more than a few thousand deaths in a single episode. A major reason that HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria are not considered likely agents for bioterrorism is that their actin takes many months, or even years, to be felt. Most agents used by bioterrorists are effective in matter of hours or days. Thus, time to impact appears to be an important component of bioterrorism."