I was really surprised to see they shut the CDC down. Afterall, who is going to maintain the biosensors that scan the atmosphere for certain select agent type pathogens. Say someone gets hold of an ebola or marburg sample from some african bat cave, or actual victim, uses it to culture the virus in vitro, or does the same with anthrax spores, then dumps a few pounds of anthrax into the air over a crowded major city like washington DC, or LA. With nobody around to monitor, nobody gets that vital early warning and extra time to respond, which WILL result in major loss of life.
Or no terrorism involved, just plain old surfacing of some particularly noxious ambient pathogen. There are still sylvatic reservoirs with endemic Y.pestis in the US, ground squirrels can carry plague for instance. What family doctor these days would recognise the early signs of bubonic plague? not until the characteristic lymphatic abscesses form, almost certainly. And if it were pneumonic plague....shit, disaster there and then if it isn't recognised and the surrounding population treated with antibiotics (pneumonic plague, whilst it can kill within hours, can be spread by the infected coughing up aerosolized Y.pestis.
Wonder if they left the DEA running...bet they fucking well did.
