A poster presentation looking at whether it’s better for women served by public health laboratories like the WSLH to have molecular-based HPV testing as their primary cervical cancer screening method vs. using a Pap test in combination with an HPV test won the Cytotechnologist Scientific Presentation Award at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Cytopathology last month.

WSLH Cytology Lab Manager Erin McCarthy

WSLH Cytology Laboratory Manager Erin McCarthy (pictured at left) was lead author on “Molecular Testing and Cervical Screening: Will One Test Fit All?”.  Changhong Ye, instructional program manager in the Cytotechnology Certificate program, and WSLH Medical Director Dr. Dan Kurtycz were co-authors.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the primary cause of nearly all cervical cancers. Nationally, there is an increasing emphasis on using molecular HPV testing as the first-line test for cervical cancer screening. But because the women the WSLH Cytology Laboratory serves tend to be higher-risk for cervical cancer and also medically underserved, McCarthy and her colleagues wanted to know if this change in testing algorithms would be helpful or harmful.

Their research found that nearly 56% of the women determined to have high-grade cervical lesions by Pap tests performed at the WSLH ended up testing negative by molecular testing for the two most common forms of HPV responsible for cervical cancer. If only the molecular HPV tests had been used for these women, their pre-cancerous lesions would have been missed at this stage of testing.

Erin and her co-authors call into question the move toward molecular HPV testing for everyone and note that as cervical cancer screening practices evolve, it will be important to consider whether different populations of women may need different testing algorithms.

“Erin deserves an immense amount of credit for this paper,” said Dr. Kurtycz. “We are all very proud of her work in this area of public health.”

The WSLH is posting Ebola Virus Information for Lab Professionals.

Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) drug testing turnaround time has decreased dramatically at the WSLH Forensic Toxicology Laboratory after implementation of several recommendations from a task force convened by the WSLH, including a Lean Six Sigma process improvement initiative.

So far in 2014, drug testing results are being reported out in 69 days vs. 263 days in 2012.  Further decreases in drug testing turnaround times are anticipated and updates will be provided. Alcohol test results continue to be reported out in less than 5 days.

WSLH toxicologists perform approximately 18,000 OWI alcohol tests and 4,000 OWI drug tests annually. Toxicologists also testify in court cases.

In November 2011 the WSLH formed the Task Force on Improving Services from the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Forensic Toxicology Program to address the trend of increasingly long delays in reporting blood drug results. The task force consisted of a broad spectrum of stakeholders and partners. A final report, issued in July 2012, outlined a strategy to improve efficiency, reduce workload and increase resources to provide more timely results.

August 25, 2014 WSLH Forensic Toxicology Task force on Improving Services UPDATE

Written by: Jan Klawitter, WSLH Public Affairs Manager

Researchers from the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) spent a day in late July collecting sediment and water samples from the Manitowoc River in Manitowoc, WI, as part of a joint research project.

A manufactured gas plant used to be located on the river and the main concerns at the site are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals that may have been left behind after the plant closed.

Scientists in the WSLH environmental toxicology laboratory will conduct toxicity tests for both sediment and overlying water (or elutriate) after sediment is mixed with ambient water and settled out. The WSLH will also be conducting inorganic and organic chemical analyses of the sediment and water samples.

The results will be used by the DNR to support the evaluation of sediment quality guidelines, particularly for PAHs.

WSLH Environmental Toxicologist Camille Turcotte scoops up sediment samples for testing.

In late July, more than 30 participants and counselors from the UW-Madison Engineering Summer Program (ESP) toured the WSLH Environmental Health Division laboratories and heard a talk about WSLH water research.

ESP is a six-week residential program for students who will be high school juniors or seniors in the upcoming school year and are interested in majoring in engineering in college. The ESP Program is targeted to high school students from groups traditionally under-represented in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) field. The students come from across the country to attend the program.

This year’s program had a water theme, so the WSLH was contacted about hosting a tour and talk.

The visit was arranged by Jan Klawitter and Dr. Curt Hedman (who also gave the water research talk).

Tour guides in each lab were Camille Turcotte (Environmental Toxicology), Jeremy Olstadt (Water Microbiology), Susan Percy (Radiochemistry), Noel Stanton and Matt Roach (Organic Chemistry and Chemical Emergency Response), Dr. Pat Gorski (Inorganic Chemistry) and DeWayne Kennedy-Parker (Metals).

Feedback from the visit was excellent, and the WSLH may become an annual visit for the ESP program.

Scenes from the visit –

Looking at water fleas in the WSLH environmental toxicology laboratory.

WSLH Inorganic Chemistry Section Director Dr. Pat Gorski talks about inorganic chemistry and trace elements testing and research.

WSLH Environmental Microbiologist Jeremy Olstadt explains the coliform bacteria and E. coli testing performed in the WSLH water microbiology laboratory.

Recent recalls of products because of potential Listeria contamination have led to numerous requests of the WSLH for Listeria culture testing.

The WSLH does not routinely perform primary culture of clinical specimens for Listeria without Wisconsin Division of Public Health (WDPH) approval.

Diagnosis of listeriosis is confirmed only after isolation of Listeria monocytogenes from a normally sterile site, such as blood, spinal fluid (in the setting of nervous system involvement) or amniotic fluid/placenta (in the setting of pregnancy).

According to the CDC, stool samples are of limited use and are not recommended (http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/diagnosis.html).

The CDC has also provided a suggested framework for medical management of persons at elevated risk for invasive listeriosis who were exposed to Listeria monocytogenes.

If a clinician or local health department has additional questions about testing for Listeria or suspects a patient has listeriosis they can contact an epidemiologist at the Wisconsin Division of Public Health (608-267-9003).

The WSLH continues to request submission of ALL Listeria monocytogenes isolates from sterile body sites for surveillance purposes.

Dr. Harry Waisman, namesake of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Waisman Center, was an early champion of screening and treatment of phenylketonuria—a rare, inherited metabolic disorder that can cause severe developmental disabilities if left untreated.

A newborn baby in a hospital nursery.

PKU is one of 44 serious disorders that newborns in Wisconsin are tested for at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s Newborn Screening Laboratory.

This video talks about Dr. Waisman’s early PKU work and features Kay Emerson, the first person successfully treated for PKU in Wisconsin.