Any formal procedures for the international investigation of certain disease outbreaks will have certain elements, such as forensic standards for evidence handling, that are generally not familiar to field epidemiologists. However, formal procedures will help insulate scientists from the political dimensions of such investigations. Nevertheless, several aspects to the ongoing negotiations deserve the careful consideration of public health organizations and practitioners, for example ways in which epidemiologic information gathered during a public health investigation can be used to justify a weapons-control investigation, or to support or rebut the conclusions of such an investigation. Additionally, further consideration is needed about the implications of public health investigations’ sharing personnel with highly politicized arms control investigations, a consequence of the small numbers of professionals with expertise in relevant disciplines.