Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

The table below lists the hours of operations for our Clinical Specimen Receiving departments. We will have staffing to accept clinical specimens at both our 2601 Agriculture Drive and our 465 Henry Mall facilities on Saturday, May 26th.

Henry Mall Specimen Receiving will be open on Monday, May 28th, for Newborn Screening Specimens ONLY.

Agriculture Drive Specimen Receiving will be closed. Please see hours of operation below.

As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH Emergency Pager at 608-263-3280.

 

Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Microbiologist Alyssa Beck explains how the WSLH will begin using environmental DNA (eDNA) to determine the presence of Zebra Mussels and New Zealand Mudsnails in select Wisconsin bodies of water this summer. Both of these invasive aquatic organisms are of concern to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

eDNA methods are less time and resource intensive than traditional field surveys and can be especially useful for screening for invasive or endangered organisms.

Webinar link (plays best in Internet Explorer): https://slhstream2.ad.slh.wisc.edu/Mediasite/Play/20efaea607274f93a03ef8cb4f8a4cdf1d

 

The WSLH’s state and regional influenza surveillance programs were in the news as WisContext produced a wrap-up story on this past flu season.

WisContext is a multimedia service of Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television and the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension.

Story — https://www.wiscontext.org/flus-seasonal-curve-swelled-2017-18

The increase in drugged driving and the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Forensic Toxicology Lab’s role in that testing were featured in a story by NBC 15 news in Madison.

In 2017, the WSLH tested more than 22,000 blood samples from suspected impaired drivers. All of those samples were tested for alcohol and a sub-set was tested for drugs.

According to WSLH Forensic Toxicology Director Amy Miles, from 2014 to 2017 the WSLH saw roughly a 17% increase in total sample submission and about a 46% increase in drug impaired cases.

Watch the story — http://www.nbc15.com/video?vid=481022021

2018 marks the 100^th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic that caused the deaths of an estimated 675,000 Americans and tens of millions worldwide.

The latest issue of Lab Matters from the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) features an article recounting how far the public health system has come in being able to respond to influenza pandemics – and how far it still needs to go.

The article includes an interview with Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Communicable Disease Division Director Pete Shult, PhD, and highlights the important work the WSLH performs as 1 of 3 National Influenza Reference Centers (NIRC).

As a NIRC, the WSLH provides influenza virus isolation, antiviral medication resistance, and whole genome sequencing testing services for 17 states, including Wisconsin.

Test result data is provided to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to speed influenza vaccine development and better understand what influenza viruses are circulating and how they may be changing.

Rotating Equipment Repair (RER), a Sussex, WI, company providing high quality repairs, parts, and field service to the high energy pump market, is featured as a “Small Business Success Story” by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).

The story highlights the collaboration between RER staffers and expert consultants from Wisconsin’s Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program (WisCon) to improve RER’s safety and health culture, including achieving SHARP status in 2009. RER has maintained continuous SHARP status, with their most recent renewal in 2017.

SHARP stands for Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program and is a recognition program by OSHA and state consultation programs for companies who have excellent health and safety program management systems in place.

Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Forensic Toxicologist Ted Savage discusses the Dane County Oral Fluid Study.

Objectives of the study were to evaluate the utility of an oral fluid detection system as a tool for law enforcement, the prevalence of people driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs, the differences between detecting drugs in oral fluid and in whole blood, and the effectiveness of the WSLH drug testing cancellation policy when blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) exceed 0.10 g/100 mL.

Webinar link (plays best in Internet Explorer) – https://slhstream2.ad.slh.wisc.edu/Mediasite/Play/e412bce0c521432c848267b59438688d1d

The critical role the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s Communicable Disease Division plays in state and national flu surveillance was featured in an article by WisContext.

WisContext is a collaborative news service of Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television and University of Wisconsin Extension.

Wisconsin’s Place In The Backbone Of U.S. Flu Surveillance: How State And Local Labs Track Outbreaks Of An Ever-Changing Influenza Virus — https://www.wiscontext.org/wisconsins-place-backbone-us-flu-surveillance

According to estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), there were 82,700 total injuries and illnesses reported by Wisconsin employers in 2016, an increase from the 78,800 total injuries and illnesses reported for 2015. The rate of injury and illness rose from 3.6 in 2015 to 3.8 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers. Nationally, the total recordable case rate declined from 3.3 to 3.2 cases per 100 full-time workers.

Background

SOII is the largest work injury data survey conducted nationwide. The Wisconsin BLS program collects data annually from a representative sample of 6,000 establishments, with a 97% survey response rate.

Summary Key Findings:*

• Private industry incident rate increased from 3.6 to 3.7. State and local government total incident rate decreased from 4.2 to 4.1. (See Chart 1)
• Manufacturing, professional and business services, and state and local government sectors show declines in rates from the prior year, while all other industries remained constant or showed increased rates. (See Chart 2)
• The number of cases increased across summary case types from 2015 to 2016 with the exception of job transfer or restriction cases: cases with days away, job transfer, or restriction (DART) increased from 39,600 to 41,800; cases with days away from work (DAFW) from 21,800 to 24,300; other recordable cases (ORC) from 39,200 to 40,800. Cases with job transfer or restriction (DJTR) only fell slightly from 17,800 to 17,500.
• Public sector sub-industries with the highest injury rates include: Local government Heavy and civil engineering construction (11.3), Local government Utilities (7.7), and Local government Transit and ground passenger transportation (6.9). (See Chart 3)
• Private sector sub-industries with the highest injury rates include: Leather and allied product manufacturing (11.8), Couriers and messengers (7.4), and Construction of buildings (7.0). (See Chart 3)

*For charts and tables of Wisconsin data, including case and demographic profiles, go to www.slh.wisc.edu/bls.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), there were 105 Wisconsin workers who died due to injury in 2016. This number reflects a slight increase from 104 fatalities in 2015.

Wisconsin’s overall fatality rate remained consistent from 2015 to 2016 with 3.6 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers. The number of workplace deaths in Wisconsin the past decade (2007-2016) range from 77 in 2008 to 114 in 2012, and average 97 fatalities annually.

The final count of occupational fatalities in the U.S. in 2016 was 5,190, according to figures the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released last month. This was an increase from 4,836 total fatal incidents in 2015. The overall U.S. fatality rate increased from 3.4 in 2015 to 3.6 cases per 100,000 full time employees in 2016.

 

Key findings for Wisconsin in 2016

• The total fatal incidents decreased among industry supersectors such as Natural resources and mining, Manufacturing, and Construction (when including public sector workers across years). Increases were noted in Education and health services. Trade, transportation, and utilities remained constant from 2015, though transportation and warehousing subsectors saw decreases while wholesale and retail trade industries noted increases.
• Transportation incidents caused the most fatalities, as is typically true, though 2016 data indicate a decrease in incidents by 17 percent compared to a 21 percent increase from 2014 to 2015.
• Incidents of violence more than doubled from 11 in 2015 to 23 incidents in 2016.
• After a sharp decline from 12 incidents in 2014 to 4 incidents in 2015, female workers account for 16 fatal incidents in 2016, with 4 of those incidents attributed to workplace violence.
• Employees age 65 and over sustained the highest number of fatalities and increased from 19 incidents in 2015 to 23 fatal incidents in 2016.

Industry

In 2016, 98 of the 105 work-related deaths in Wisconsin occurred within private industry. Public sector worker deaths decreased from 9 deaths in 2015 to 7 in 2016. Agriculture, fishing, forestry, and hunting fatality count decreased from 26 to 20. Fatalities in the professional and business services industry increased from 7 in 2015 to 16 in 2016, while the trade, transportation, and utilities remained consistent at 24. Manufacturing industry deaths fell from 14 in 2015 to 12 in 2016, while fatalities in the construction industry decreased from 14 incidents (10 in private industry, 4 in the public sector) to 12 (all private ownership).

Event

Transportation incidents comprised the highest number of fatal work injuries in 2016 with 38 incidents, a decrease from 46 incidents in 2015. Falls, slips, and trips decreased slightly from 17 in 2015 to 16 incidents in 2016. Fatal contact incidents were also numbered at 16 in 2016, falling from 18 incidents in 2015. Violent events increased sharply from 11 in 2015 to 23 in 2016. Deaths due to exposure to harmful substance or environments remained consistent from 2015 to 2016 at 11 incidents.

Worker Characteristics and Occupation

Of the 105 fatalities in 2016, 9 workers were in contractor status, down from 14 in 2015. Thirty-eight were self-employed. The highest number of fatal work injuries occurred among age group 65 years and older with 23 deaths, followed by age 45 to 54 with 21, and age 55 to 64 with 20 incidents. Transportation and material moving occupations sustained the greatest number of fatal injuries in 2016 at 19 incidents, followed by management occupations with 17 deaths. Construction and extraction occupations remained consistent in 2016 at 13 fatalities, while 9 deaths occurred among installation, maintenance, and repair workers. Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations each indicated 8 incidents in 2016.

Background of Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the United States during the calendar year. The program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH), a part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the state’s public, environmental and occupational health laboratory. The WSLH’s Bureau of Labor Statistics/Occupational Safety and Health Statistics Program has a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to conduct the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in Wisconsin.

For more about Wisconsin Work-related fatalities, go to www.slh.wisc.edu/bls.

For more about U.S. Work-related fatalities, go to https://www.bls.gov/iif/news.htm