Minn. Public Health Lab Teaches Students About Disease Outbreaks

The Public Health Laboratory, a division of the Minnesota Department of Health, offers a “Scrubs Camp” activity for high school students, free of charge for their school. This interactive infectious disease class takes students on a journey through a community health outbreak, from the perspectives of the Public Health Laboratory’s Infectious Disease Laboratory and Emergency Preparedness and Response program.  

On June 24, Infectious Disease Laboratory Biosafety Coordinator Eric Lundquist and Public Health Laboratory Education Outreach Coordinator Ashley Riskedahl led two classes at Scrubs Camp at Winona State University (WSU). Each class had around 20 students.  

The Scrubs Camp was part of a week-long camp activity at WSU for high school students. The Public Health Laboratory’s Scrubs Camp class, called “Disease Detectives,” focuses on an outbreak. Its scenario begins at a community picnic and then proceeds to a laboratory and a department of epidemiology, the study of who, where, when and why diseases happen. This allows students to participate in both public health roles to find the source of the outbreak. 

As part of the activity, students were given the opportunity to do an environmental swab, taking a sample from a location of their choosing. The plates from the student samples were brought back to the Infectious Disease Laboratory to incubate and see what grew.

The Public Health Laboratory is looking to host Scrubs Camp classes in partnership with other schools as well. Visit the lab’s Education and Outreach page to learn more. 

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