RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - As concerns heighten over the possibility of bioterrorism or an infectious disease outbreak, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report that concludes there are multiple challenges to maintaining a defense with myriad levels of government and private sector players.

"The biodefense enterprise is fragmented and does not have strategic oversight to promote efficiency and accountability. Specifically, the biodefense enterprise lacks institutionalized leadership enterprise-wide to provide strategic oversight and coordination," reads the highlight of the report posted to the GAO website.

"In 2011, GAO reported, there are more than two dozen presidentially appointed individuals with biodefense responsibilities and numerous federal agencies with mission responsibilities for supporting biodefense activities, but no individual or entity with responsibility for overseeing the entire biodefense enterprise."

The full report can be found at gao.gov.