Suicidal terrorism: Medical-ecological point of view

The wave of suicidal terrorism that has shaken the world has enormous implications for medicine. This paper analyzes suicidal terrorism as a disease from the medicoecological point of view. The primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of suicidal terrorism consist, respectively, of the removal of risk factors, or agents of suicidal terrorism (terrorist and corresponding ideologies), and the hosts of terrorism (people, buildings, transportation, etc.), and the care of the environment of terrorism (injustice, illiteracy, disease, hunger, lack of human rights and hope). Violence is a recognized public health problem. Because terrorism is the use of violence and threats on a massive scale to coerce or intimidate, especially for political purposes, terrorism demands the attention of the medical community worldwide. The physicians' duty to protect life and health whenever possible is indivisible from their duty to help prevent terrorism of all types.