WSLH News

October 11, 2019Lung Injury and Vaping: New Resources for Clinicians and LabsExcerpted from an October 10, 2019, message sent to Wisconsin healthcare providers by the Wisconsin Division of Public Health’s Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health Since July 2019, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and local health departments have been investigating an outbreak of lung injury associated with recent e-cigarette use, or vaping. We […]

September 17, 2019C. diphtheria Culture Test DiscontinuedAs of August 2019, the WSLH Communicable Disease Division has discontinued performing culture for Corynebacterium diphtheria (test code MP00380). Any requests for C. diphtheria culture will be sent out to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for C. diphtheria testing. If you choose to have us forward the specimen to the CDC for […]

September 13, 2019New Conditions Added to Newborn Screening PanelThe Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has added, by emergency rule, screening for Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase 1A deficiency (CPT1A) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) to the Wisconsin Newborn Screening Program’s panel of conditions. This rule will go into effect once it is published in the Wisconsin State Journal, which is expected to occur on October […]

August 16, 2019Labor Day 2019 Holiday HoursThe Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Specimen Receiving Departments will be open for deliveries on Saturday, August 31st, as usual. Henry Mall Specimen Receiving will be open on Monday, September 2nd, for Newborn Screening Specimens ONLY. Agriculture Drive Specimen Receiving will be closed. Please see hours of operation below. As always, if there is […]

July 25, 2019WSLH Director Talks Air Pollution in BangladeshFor more than a year, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Director and University of Wisconsin-Madison Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Jamie Schauer has served as a U.S. Science Envoy for Air Quality on behalf of the U.S. State Department. During the week of July 23, 2019, Dr. Schauer is in Dhaka, Bangladesh, meeting with government, […]

June 18, 2019July 4th 2019 Holiday SchedulePlease note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the July 4th Independence Day holiday. In observance of the holiday, we will be closed on Thursday, July 4th. We will NOT be receiving specimens on July 4th. The WSLH Specimen Receiving Department will be open for […]

June 11, 2019Brodifacoum Testing SurveyIf you recently received a letter from the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Chemical Emergency Response Unit asking you to take a survey about our brodifacoum testing services, please follow this link to the survey — https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_513rPVMWAeMsFUN The survey will close in one month. Thank you.

June 4, 2019Discontinuation of Syphilis VDRL Qualitative Antibody Test (SS02017)The WSLH constantly strives to offer the highest quality laboratory services based on customer and public health need. With the implementation of the Syphilis Diagnostic Testing Algorithm at the WSLH and other Wisconsin clinical laboratories, the Syphilis VDRL Qualitative Antibody Test (SS02017) will be discontinued at the WSLH on June 30, 2019. The following is […]

May 20, 2019Memorial Day 2019 Holiday SchedulePlease 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 […]

May 6, 2019Coroner and Medical Examiner Regional TrainingsThe Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Forensic Toxicology Section and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services are pleased to offer free, regional trainings for Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Partners throughout Wisconsin. Training will be from 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM at the following locations: May 21st – GREEN BAY – Hyatt Regency July 17th – […]

April 4, 2019APHL Podcast: Fake Dope and Rat PoisonIn 2018 more than 300 people in multiple states experienced life-threatening uncontrolled bleeding and 8 people died. The cause – synthetic cannabinoids laced with brodifacoum, a very potent rat poison. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s response to this outbreak and the development of a quantitative test by WSLH Chemical Emergency Response Unit Chemists Bill […]

March 26, 2019WSLH-UW Co-Sponsored Seminar SeriesThe Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) is developing a new seminar support initiative to encourage cross-disciplinary research, exchange of ideas, and to develop new opportunities. As a test of the feasibility and interest we have reached out to multiple UW-Madison programs to schedule co-sponsored seminars as well as lab tours and meetings with WSLH […]

March 18, 2019WSLH Joins National Biomonitoring NetworkThe Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) has been accepted into the National Biomonitoring Network (NBN) as a Tier 2 laboratory. The NBN is facilitated by the Association of Public Health Laboratories. It is a collaboration of federal, regional, state and local laboratories that conduct biomonitoring for use in public health practice and in response […]

February 21, 2019Environmental Science Day, Feb. 21st Environmental Science Day 2019 was held on Thursday, February 21st and featured a variety of presentations from Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) staff, as well as from Professor Dan Vimont with the University […]

February 20, 2019Webinar: Molecular Testing in Newborn Screening – Where We Are and Where We’re GoingThe Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Newborn Screening Laboratory has a long successful history of pioneering emerging molecular technologies to implement new screening tests for disorders and to improve existing screening tests. In this webinar Dr. Mei Baker, WSLH Newborn Screening Laboratory co-director and University of Wisconsin professor of pediatrics, explains how advanced molecular technologies […]

February 19, 2019Haemophilus ducreyi Culture Test DiscontinuedAs of February 2019, the WSLH Communicable Disease Division has discontinued performing culture for Haemophilus ducreyi (test code MP00610). Any requests for H. ducreyi culture will be sent out to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for H. ducreyi PCR testing. If you choose to have us forward the specimen to the CDC […]

February 12, 2019Wisconsin Nonfatal Work Injury and Illness Rate Decreases in 2017According to estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Survey of Occupational injuries and Illnesses (SOII), there were 82,400 total injuries and illnesses reported by Wisconsin employers in 2017, a slight decrease from the 82,700 total injuries and illnesses reported for 2016. The rate of injury and illness fell from 3.8 in 2016 to […]

February 5, 2019Fatal Worker Injuries Remain Consistent in Wisconsin in 2017According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, there were 106 Wisconsin workers who died due to injury in 2017. This number reflects a slight increase from 105 fatalities in 2016, but Wisconsin’s overall fatality rate dropped slightly from a rate of 3.6 in 2016 to 3.5 deaths per 100,000 full-time […]

February 1, 2019Building Flu-Fighting Infrastructure is Just First StepThe Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene is featured prominently in an Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Lab Blog story focusing on the importance of federal funding for pandemic influenza response. WSLH Communicable Disease Division Director and CDC “Flu Fighter” Dr. Pete Shult recounts how during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic WSLH scientists were testing […]

February 1, 2019Fighting the Good Fight Against AR BacteriaBetween January – September 2018, scientists in the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Communicable Disease Division identified nearly 300 CRE (aka “nightmare bacteria”) isolates with antibiotic resistance genes that were new or uncommon for our area. That’s just one of the data points from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recently released […]

January 15, 2019Environmental Science Day 2019 – February 21, 2019 Environmental Science Day 2019 on Thursday, February 21st, from 12:30 – 4:30 PM will feature a variety of presentations from Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and Wisconsin Division of Public Health (DPH) staff, as well as from Professor Dan […]

January 4, 2019Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Holiday SchedulePlease 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. As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH Emergency Pager at 608-263-3280. […]

January 3, 2019WSLH 2018-2019 Annual ReportThe 2018-2019 Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Annual Report is now online at https://indd.adobe.com/view/0f146d2e-4a2d-437b-9173-8e4117ba7bda. There is a PDF version at http://www.slh.wisc.edu/news/publications/. From helping determine the size of Wisconsin’s opioid crisis to tracking the spread of antibiotic resistant organisms across the Midwest to housing the “international gold standard” for air pollution monitoring, the scientists and staff […]

December 21, 20182nd Tier CAH Test Reduces False Positives and Parental AnxietyA two-tier testing method for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) developed at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Newborn Screening Laboratory is reducing anxiety for families by increasing the specificity of test results. CAH is a potentially life-threatening endocrine disorder with the majority of cases caused by a defect in the enzyme 21-hydroxylase. This defect […]

December 17, 2018Testing Fee Increases Effective January 1, 2019At the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, we strive to keep our prices low. We understand how rate increases may impact your business operations. From time to time, it becomes necessary for us to increase our prices to keep our not-for-profit laboratory financially stable. Effective January 1, 2019, we will increase some of our prices. […]

December 7, 20182018 Holiday SchedulePlease 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 […]

November 30, 2018Webinar: Fake Dope and Rat Poison – Bleeding Disorders Associated with the use of Synthetic Marijuana in WIEarlier this year, patients began arriving in Chicago emergency rooms with unexplained bleeding. A link was made to the use of synthetic marijuana products, and the discovery of brodifacoum – a powerful anticoagulant and rat poison – was found to be the cause. This outbreak soon spread to Wisconsin and other states. In response, WSLH […]

November 28, 2018Wednesday Nite @ the Lab Commemorates 1918 Pandemic Centennial2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the devastating 1918 influenza pandemic that killed tens of millions worldwide. To commemorate the centennial, UW’s Wednesday Nite @ the Lab (WN@TL) hosted a series of talks this fall looking back at various aspects of the 1918 pandemic and looking forward into the future. WSLH Communicable Disease Division Director […]

November 28, 2018Kaitlin Sundling wins ASC Foundation’s “Shark Tank” competitionCytotechnology Certificate Program Director Kaitlin Sundling, MD, PhD, won the American Society of Cytopathology Foundation’s “Shark Tank” Young Investigator Grant competition with her pitch – “Development of a Deep Learning Image Analysis System for Improved Cytology Screening.” From a large field of applicants, proposals from 12 semifinalists were evaluated and 3 young researchers were chosen […]

November 2, 2018Economic Benefits of the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program – SummarySummary from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a working paper showing that the agency’s On-Site Consultation Program generates national economic benefits of approximately $1.3 billion per year. The OSHA On-Site Consultation Program offers no-cost and confidential occupational safety and health services to small and medium-sized […]

November 1, 2018Thanksgiving 2018 Holiday HoursThe Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene will be closed on Thursday, November 22, for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our Specimen Receiving departments will observe the following hours of operation for the Thanksgiving holiday: 2601 Agriculture Drive – Specimen Receiving DATE HOURS Thursday, 11/22, Thanksgiving Day Closed Friday, 11/23 6 AM – 4:30 PM Saturday, 11/24 […]

October 5, 2018Lange Awarded U.S. Army Commander’s Award for Public ServiceOn October 2nd, Chemical Emergency Response Assistant Coordinator Meshel Lange was awarded the U.S. Department of the Army’s Commander’s Award for Public Service by the Wisconsin National Guard 54th Civil Support Team (CST). The 54th CST is a critical response asset for emergencies or terrorist events that involve weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or toxic […]

October 5, 2018Accolades for WSLH’s Chemical Emergency Response TeamOne of the WSLH’s important duties is being Wisconsin’s primary emergency response laboratory. And as with many of our state roles, our impact is felt far beyond Wisconsin’s borders. The WSLH is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be a Level 1 chemical emergency response laboratory – 1 of only […]

September 4, 2018WSLH Responds to Synthetic Cannabinoid ContaminationStories about people being hospitalized for and even dying from severe bleeding after using synthetic cannabinoids have filled the news since March 2018. The responsible agent was determined to be brodifacoum, a powerful anticoagulant. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Chemical Response Program developed and implemented a quantitative test method for brodifacoum in blood, […]

August 24, 2018Legionella PCR (test MP00421) DiscontinuedLegionella PCR testing has been discontinued. The PCR test is designed to detect Legionella spp. at the genus level. To best meet our program needs, we request that you submit a primary specimen for Legionella Culture or submit a Legionella isolate grown at your laboratory so we can also type the organism for epidemiologic purposes. […]

August 16, 2018Webinar: Newborn Screening Responds to Concerns through TrainingWSLH Newborn Screening Laboratory Co-Director and UW Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Patrice Held, PhD, FACMGG, shares how the newborn screening program developed innovative online training modules that positively impacted the analytical testing process of the newborn screening program. These learning opportunities for health care providers address timeliness and quality assurance concerns. Watch the webinar

August 7, 2018“Majoring” in Genetics and Newborn Screening at Grandparents UniversityThe Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s campus lab building was bustling with “students” on July 26th and 27th as 12 grandparent-grandkid pairs “majored” in genetics and newborn screening as part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Grandparents University (GPU). GPU started at UW-Madison in 2001 and runs for two consecutive days for three consecutive weeks every […]

July 24, 2018National Atmospheric Deposition Program Moves to WSLHUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison news story – https://news.wisc.edu/national-atmospheric-deposition-program-moves-to-hygiene-lab-at-uw-madison/ The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the new Central Analytical Laboratory and Program Office for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program. The NADP serves public and environmental health, science, education and agriculture by monitoring North America’s precipitation and atmosphere for a range of […]

July 9, 2018Partnerships Key for WI Harmful Algal Bloom SurveillanceThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a case study on Wisconsin’s use of partnerships to help build and sustain Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)-related illness surveillance. This case study is part of a CDC toolkit for public health professionals designed to encourage HAB surveillance and reporting to One Health Harmful Algal Bloom System […]

June 20, 2018July 4th Holiday SchedulePlease note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the July 4th Independence Day holiday. In observance of the holiday, we will be closed on Wednesday, July 4th. We will NOT be receiving specimens on July 4th. The WSLH Specimen Receiving Department will be open for […]

June 8, 2018Schauer Named U.S. Science EnvoyJames Schauer, PhD, PE, MBA, director of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene and Peterson-Radar-Hawnn Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UW-Madison, has been named a 2018 U.S. Science Envoy by the U.S. Department of State. U.S. Science Envoys engage internationally at the citizen and government levels to enhance relationships between other nations and […]

June 7, 2018Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment Grant Award Focuses on Newborn Screening, Genetic TestingAs a Co-Principal Investigator, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Newborn Screening Laboratory Co-Director and University of Wisconsin Professor of Pediatrics Mei Baker, MD, and the Principal Investigator UW Pediatrics Associate Professor Christine Seroogy, MD, received a three-year, $120,000 Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment Grant for their project, “Development and Implementation of Rapid Genetic Test to Improve […]

May 18, 2018What if There Were No Public Health Labs?A new Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) podcast tells the horror stories that can happen to families everywhere when there are no public health labs. The podcast is the second in a series produced by cohort 10 of the APHL Emerging Leader Program. The podcast stories focus on emerging infectious diseases, newborn screening, and […]

May 18, 2018New Rapid Rabies Test Could Revolutionize Testing, TreatmentThe Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Rabies laboratory was 1 of 14 pilot study sites worldwide for a new rabies test developed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that could mean people exposed to potentially rabid animals could forego the weeks-long regimen of shots to prevent the deadly disease. The new test, […]

May 16, 2018Memorial Day Holiday SchedulePlease 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 […]

May 7, 2018WSLH Webinar: Using eDNA to Determine Species Presence in Environmental SamplesWisconsin 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 […]

May 3, 2018WisContext: Flu’s Seasonal Curve Swelled In 2017-18The 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

April 27, 2018NBC 15: Drugged Driving on the RiseThe 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 […]

April 5, 20181918 Influenza Pandemic 100th Anniversary – How Far We’ve Come and How Far We Need To Go2018 marks the 100th 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 […]

March 26, 2018OSHA Small Business Success Story: Rotating Equipment Repair Achieves Injury-Free Workplace with WisCon’s HelpRotating 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 […]