EPIDEMIC/PANDEMIC AS NATURAL DISASTERS

The aim of this research is to provide, on the basis of the historical development of epidemics and pandemics as well as the lessons learned from combating them, an insight into both the narrower and broader aspects of the issue, to highlight the creation of governmental models for their suppression and prevention, and to contribute to the improvement of efficiency and the preservation of the healthcare system and global security protection both in the context of human health and the health of plant and animal life. The research seeks to answer the question of whether responses to such emergency situations, both military and civilian, are adequate in terms of human resources, material and technical capacities, as well as healthcare capacities, in confronting emerging threats. As a problem-oriented study, its objective is to indicate the causes, identify challenges, and classify the types of bioterrorism manifested through pandemics and with the use of comparative method, historical events pointing to issues encountered during pandemics, endemics, epizootics, and epiphytotics, in order to foresee the emergence of future such events that not only end with suppression and treatment, but also with addressing the legal issues arising from them.