Medical preparedness for bioterrorism and chemical warfare: A public health integration review

Medicine (Baltimore). 2025 May 2;104(18):e42289. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000042289.

ABSTRACT

Global public health faces a major danger from chemical and biological weapon-related terrorism which requires comprehensive emergency preparedness and response strategies. This review investigates present-day public health measures against bioterrorism by focusing on an all-hazards framework which unifies traditional and nontraditional threats. The review evaluates federal programs that boost state and local health systems through funding, distribution and team-based partnerships and technological innovation. The primary emergency response elements consist of identifying outbreaks early and improving surveillance together with using state-of-the-art diagnostic tools to detect biological and chemical agents. The review emphasizes the necessity of maintaining healthcare provider education alongside preparations of full medical readiness plans as well as strategic approaches for safeguarding defenseless groups. This paper investigates resource constraints and governmental agency coordination challenges during biowarfare emergencies. The review examines nucleic-acid-based diagnostic and sensor network innovations as vital components for real-time biological agent detection systems. The review emphasizes the vital role of community involvement together with psychological resistance training in addition to continued pathogen behavior study and protection research. The review demonstrates that successful bioterrorism risk reduction depends on advanced integrated protection strategies which combine state agency collaboration with state of the art monitoring techniques and strengthened public health systems.

PMID:40324267 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000042289