The announcement came on the anniversary of the 2001 anthrax bio-terror attacks in Washington and elsewhere that killed five people.

"Biological threats emanate from many sources, and they know no borders," Trump said in a statement.

"They have great potential to disrupt the economy, exact a toll on human life, and tear at the very fabric of society."

The Trump administration last year outlined in its National Defense Strategy the need to better address a growing risk of agents, including Ebola and anthrax.

The new strategy is aimed at improving the way the government coordinates its biodefense measures and how it prepares for and responds to biological incidents.