The VBAD 3600 is an integrated vehicle-based system for monitoring biological aerosols and optionally, chemical gases and vapors. The system is compatible with a wide range of vehicle interior spaces and is highly automated in operation. All key features are constantly monitored by software residing on a laptop computer within the vehicle. In a typical scenario, a multistep protocol involving detection, alarm, sample collection and biological identification are automatically performed and the results reported on the attached computer with no human intervention. From the computer, the information can be easily transferred to a headquarters location using any customer-defined communication link.