Researchers Develop New Tool To Detect Agents Of Bioterrorism

Scientists have developed a new "biological smoke detector" to help protect against potential bioterrorist attacks, according to a study published in the Jan. 1 edition of Analytical Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

High-traffic facilities like airports, office buildings, rail stations and sporting arenas serve hundreds of thousands of people each day, making them particularly susceptible to silent and invisible biological attacks. Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have now developed a new stand-alone detector that can provide early warning to help authorities limit exposure and start treating victims before they show symptoms of full-blown infection.

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Sounds interesting.

One thing is bugging me here - can this detector be used against people?
Imagine that you want to put "dangerous" thinking community into detention. You use "biological smoke detector", which says that the whole community is contaminated, even if nobody shows any signs. They are taken apart... And so it goes.

Is this far fetched ???