Laboratory Networks and Surveillance

WCLN
The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) coordinates a network (the Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network, or “WCLN”) of clinical laboratories in the state to ensure a timely and effective response to clinical laboratory and public health needs.  The WCLN purpose encompasses emergency preparedness, disease surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, training and education, and communications. 

The WCLN webpage provides access to a number of laboratory materials that have been created in collaboration with clinical laboratory partners, most notably the members of the Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Technical Advisory Group (“LabTAG”). 

Surveillance
Subsets of the WCLN laboratories, along with other testing sites, provide testing data, samples, and isolates, to the WSLH for virus surveillance, enteric bacterial surveillance, and mycobacteriology surveillance. The WSLH collates, analyzes and develops graphs of the data.  The WSLH also provides reports to mycobacteriology and virology submitters and summary “bullet-statement” Virus Surveillance Reports to all who request them.  

The Laboratory Surveillance Reports webpage provides access to the current laboratory-based surveillance reports and graphs that are generated as a testing reports provided by Wisconsin laboratories and other test sites.   The graphs include both current and historical graphs and, in come cases, both statewide and regional data.  Descriptions of Wisconsin’s laboratory-based surveillance programs are also available on this webpage.

Communicable Disease Resources
The Communicable Disease Division (CDD) of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene provides reference and specialized testing services in support of public health and ensures statewide access to laboratory expertise and capabilities in the disciplines of Bacteriology, Mycobacteriology, Virology, Parasitology, Molecular Microbiology, and Serology.  The CDD also coordinates a network of clinical laboratories throughout Wisconsin for emergency and public health response, and facilitates planning among clinical laboratories, local public health laboratories and other state-level laboratories.

The “Communicable Disease Resources” link connects you to the WSLH CDD webpage, which provides an A to Z Index of communicable disease and related topics.