Midwest Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (VBD)

Related Pages

Location: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Funded through December 2021

Key VBD Issues

Two people holding a mosquito trap.

Midwest COE student trainees display a mosquito trap.

  • Lyme disease and other tickborne diseases
  • West Nile virus disease (WNV)
  • Emerging VBDs: Jamestown Canyon, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Eastern equine encephalitis
  • Range expansion of Aedes albopictus mosquito, which can spread dengue, chikungunya, and other germs

By the Numbers

  • 450 public health professionals trained on VBD surveillance and control
  • 66 undergraduates and young professionals completed hands-on, long-term training in public health and vector control organizations in five states
  • 39 certificates in Public Health Entomology awarded to students and young professionals

Regional Resources

Person performs a tick drag with a cloth in a backyard.

Midwest COE student trainee performs a tick drag in a backyard.

  • Vector Records Repository houses surveillance and pathogen testing data for the region.
  • The Tick App, a mobile technology, pinpoints places of tick exposure and identifies ticks.
  • Digital channels connect VBD partners across the Midwest.
  • 2,800 Midwest residents participated in a multi-state survey to better understand knowledge and behavior related to ticks and tickborne diseases.
  • Mosquito control professionals learned how to perform insecticide resistance testing.

Research

  • Searching for, and finding in 99 new counties, blacklegged ticks to document the change in their geographic spread
  • Developing new repellents and insecticides for homeowners to use for tick control in their yards
  • Establishing overall behaviors and lawn care practices for tick control by homeowners
  • Improving mosquito control for WNV prevention
  • Developing models to predict WNV outbreaks

Major Collaborators

  • Five academic institutions: University of Wisconsin- Madison, Iowa State University, Loyola University, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, and Michigan State University
  • Seven state health departments in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana
  • Six mosquito control districts: Northwest Mosquito Control, North Shore Mosquito Control, Metropolitan Mosquito Control, Macon Mosquito Control, Toledo Area Sanitary District, and Saginaw County Mosquito Control

For More Information

Midwest COE websiteexternal icon

Page last reviewed: May 18, 2021
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of Vector-Borne Diseases (DVBD)