Mosquito and Tick Surveillance Intern

Description: The Mosquito and Tick Surveillance Program consists of trapping and testing mosquito and tick populations for vector-borne diseases including West Nile Virus (WNV), EEE, Jamestown Canyon Virus, and Lyme Disease. It also includes sorting and identifying the mosquito species that could potentially carry the Zika virus. The main responsibilities of the intern(s) will include identifying and sorting mosquito species, creating and updating databases, analyzing and interpreting data, public outreach and education, and providing administrative preparation and field support for seasonal programming.

Importance to Public Health: In 2012, Kent County had the second highest number of WNV cases in the State of Michigan. Since 2013, the Kent County Health Department has monitored the Grand Rapids area for the presence of WNV. With a mild winter and the upcoming humid Michigan summer, urban areas in Kent County will provide an ideal environment to breed mosquitoes. In a continued effort to protect our community from contracting WNV and to monitor the emerging vector-borne diseases, our department has carried out a mosquito and tick surveillance program and educated the public concerning mosquito/tick control and arboviruses.

Project Deliverables:

- Creation of a databases compiling mosquito and tick surveillance results

- Statistical analysis of collected data with graphic presentation

- GIS mapping

- Presentation for Student Research Day

Minimum Qualifications: Students applying for this internship must be enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s degree program. Computer proficiency is required. Knowledge of Excel preferred.