The January 2018 issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology features an article about an innovative statewide biosafety risk assessment conducted by the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Communicable Disease Division (WSLH CDD).

From the article “Laboratory Focus on Improving the Culture of Biosafety: Statewide Risk Assessment of Clinical Laboratories That Process Specimens for Microbiologic Analysis” –

 

The Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network (WCLN) Laboratory Technical Advisory Group (LabTAG) collaborated with WSLH CDD staff to create the assessment tool and also helped analyze the data and draw some conclusions. LabTAG and CDD staff co-wrote the JCM article.

According to WCLN Coordinator Erin Bowles, the article is an important step in highlighting the work Wisconsin clinical laboratories have done on increasing biosafety.

“We wanted to highlight the effort that WI labs are putting forth to improve their culture of biosafety. There haven’t been any other states that have taken this approach or published any results so we wanted to get this published,” Erin said.

Read the article at http://jcm.asm.org/content/56/1/e01569-17.full

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. 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, January 13^th.

Henry Mall Specimen Receiving will be open on Monday, January 15th, 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.

 

You can’t see it, you can’t smell it, you can’t taste it, it could kill you – and it may be a problem in your home. What is it? Radon.

January is National Radon Action Month and homeowners interested in testing their homes for radon have many options.

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene offers radon testing.

Homeowners can also contact Radon Information Centers or certified radon measurement contractors for testing or buy a test kit at a hardware store.

For more information on radon, health concerns, and a list certified radon reduction contractors, please see the WI Division of Health Services radon website at lowradon.org.

In this January 25, 2017 webinar, WSLH Radiochemistry Supervisor Tracy Hanke talks about this natural (radioactive) breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water that gets into the air you breathe. How do you find it? What are the health effects? What can you do about it?

In this webinar, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Virology Team Lead Erik Reisdorf reviews the basics of seasonal and pandemic influenza, what we expect to happen this flu season, and the importance of surveillance activities at the WSLH. Reisdorf also discusses common misconceptions about influenza.

Webinar link (plays best in Internet Explorer) – https://slhstream2.ad.slh.wisc.edu/Mediasite/Play/04ed6b246b594990ab31fa6e0e0164b11d

 

 

 

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

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

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

 

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been chosen as the central analytical laboratory and program office for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP).

The NADP serves public and environmental health, science, education and agriculture by monitoring North America’s precipitation and atmosphere for a range of chemicals and uses that data to determine both time and space trends for concentration and deposition.

NADP is a cooperative effort between many different groups including federal, state, and local governmental agencies, tribal governments, educational institutions, private companies, and non-governmental agencies which provide funding, scientific, and technical support. Funding comes from monitoring site participants and the following federal agencies: National Park Service, US Geological Survey, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, and Agricultural Research Service.

“NADP is the international gold standard for long-term, high quality air pollutant monitoring and has been in operation for 40 years. The program aligns quite well with both the WSLH’s mission as well as the Wisconsin Idea,” said WSLH Director and UW-Madison Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Jamie Schauer.

As the central analytical laboratory and program office, the WSLH will provide pre-analytic services, analytic testing and post-analytic results and data analysis for samples from 300+ monitoring sites across the country. Data is made publicly available. The program office at the WSLH will work with NADP committees on network operations, science, education, and outreach activities.

The NADP central analytical laboratory and program office have been housed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The transition to the WSLH will occur over the next few months.

“The WSLH is a lab with an outstanding reputation for excellence. We are pleased that the program office and central analytical laboratory will be able to remain together in a single institution and are excited about the potential to build new connections within the University of Wisconsin,” said Tamara Blett, Chair, NADP Executive Committee.

Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Medical Director and University of Wisconsin Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Daniel Kurtycz, MD, has been elected to lead the American Society of Cytopathology (ASC).

The ASC is a 3,000 member national professional society of physicians, cytotechnologists and scientists dedicated to the cytologic method of diagnostic pathology.

Dr. Kurtycz was installed as Vice President at the ASC annual meeting in November 2017. In 2018 he will become President-Elect and in 2019 he will become President. His three-year leadership term will end in November 2020. Kurtycz most recently served as ASC’s Secretary-Treasurer.

 

 

 

WSLH Cytotechnology Certificate Program Director Michele Smith was elected to the ASC Executive Board for a three-year term. She will join the Board at the November annual meeting. Smith is also the Program Manager for the University of Wisconsin’s Master of Science in Biotechnology Program.

 

WisContext – an online multimedia news and information service of Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television and UW Cooperative Extension – used excerpts from Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Forensic Toxicologist Lori Edward’s talk earlier this year to highlight “The Volatile Mix of Drugs at Work in the Opioid Crisis”.

Edward’s talk – “Heroin and Other Opioids: A Wisconsin Epidemic?” – in April 2017 was part of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wednesday Nite @ the Lab series. She covered the current issues and trends associated with heroin and other opioids in Wisconsin, including the history of the opium plant, manufacturing process, and the pharmacological effects of heroin and other opioids on the human body. In addition, case studies of individuals driving under the influence of heroin or other opioids were discussed.

Watch an archived webcast of her talk — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Ctvql69Dk

 

WisContext Series on “The Opioid Epidemic in Wisconsin”

WisContext is running a series of stories on opioid use in Wisconsin – http://www.wiscontext.org/opioid-epidemic-wisconsin

Series stories featuring the WSLH:

“New Synthetic Opioids Test Limits Of Wisconsin’s Drug Analysis” – http://www.wiscontext.org/new-synthetic-opioids-test-limits-wisconsins-drug-analysis

“To Identify Elusive Opioids, Labs Pursue More Sensitive Equipment” – http://www.wiscontext.org/identify-elusive-opioids-labs-pursue-more-sensitive-equipment

“Synthetic Opioids Have Public Health And Medical Investigators Playing Catch-Up” – https://www.wiscontext.org/synthetic-opioids-have-public-health-and-medical-investigators-playing-catch

“Wisconsin’s First Responders Take Steps To Avoid Opioid Exposure On The Job” – https://www.wiscontext.org/wisconsins-first-responders-take-steps-avoid-opioid-exposure-job

“The Toxicology Mysteries Posed By Synthetic Opioids” – https://www.wiscontext.org/toxicology-mysteries-posed-synthetic-opioids

“Occupational Risks To People Encountering Opioids On The Job” – https://www.wiscontext.org/occupational-risks-people-encountering-opioids-job

“The Volatile Mix of Drugs at Work in the Opioid Crisis” – https://www.wiscontext.org/volatile-mix-drugs-work-opioid-crisis

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene will be closed on Thursday, November 23, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Our Specimen Receiving departments will observe the following hours of operation for the Thanksgiving holiday:

 

 

 

On Nov. 6^th, WSLH Communicable Disease Division Director Dr. Pete Shult gave a talk on “Responding to Emerging Infectious Disease Threats – The Role of the WSLH and its Laboratory Networks” as part of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Population Health Sciences Monday seminar series.

Shult’s talk focused on the role and capabilities of the WSLH in surveillance for, and response to, infectious disease threats of particular public health importance. He also discussed the roles of the mission-critical statewide clinical laboratory network that the WSLH coordinates and the national networks in which the WSLH participates and maintains a leadership role.

Video of talk –  http://videos.med.wisc.edu/videos/78899