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State Hygiene Lab Recognized for Outstanding Response to Foodborne Disease Outbreaks

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s key role in identifying the DNA fingerprint of the E. coli O157:H7 strain involved in last Fall’s nationwide spinach contamination outbreak earned the WSLH Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) laboratory staff a 2007 PulseNet PulseStar award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

This is the second time the WSLH has received the national award, which is given for exceptional contributions to foodborne disease surveillance and outbreak response. Retired microbiologist Terry Kurzynski and the PFGE staff received this award in 2002. This year’s award was given for the WSLH’s work on the nationwide E. coli O157:H7 in spinach outbreak in which our staff were the first in the nation to identify the bacterial strain that sickened hundreds and caused three deaths. The PFGE staff‘s work on the nationwide Salmonella in peanut butter outbreak in the Fall of 2006 and early 2007 and a large Campylobacter in cheese curds outbreak in northern Wisconsin in the Summer of 2006 were also cited as reasons for the award.

WSLH Food and Waterborne Disease Program Manager Tim Monson accepted the award at the annual PulseNet conference Providence, Rhode Island, on behalf of the PFGE team – Linda Machmueller, Simone Warrack and Nate Woolever.

The WSLH PFGE team was nominated for the award by a coalition of public health partners, including the Wisconsin Division of Public Health (State Epidemiologist Dr. Jeff Davis, State Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Jim Kazmierczak, epidemiologists Diep (Zip) Johnson and John Archer – (both former WSLH employees), the Michigan Department of Community Health-PulseNet Area Laboratory and WSLH Communicable Disease Division Assistant Director Dr. Dave Warshauer.

Monson explains that success is a team effort.

“In one of the news stories during the spinach outbreak, it said that Wisconsin has one of the highest rates of identifying the causes of foodborne outbreaks in the country. This is because of the commitment shown by the clinical laboratories that quickly submit their isolates to us for surveillance, the staff in the Wisconsin Division of Public Health – Bureau of Communicable Diseases and the local health departments who do the “shoe leather” epidemiology work of investigating outbreaks and interacting with the people affected, and the Michigan PulseNet laboratory, our PulseNet Area Laboratory, who we consult for PFGE guidance. All of us work together to help protect the health of the people of Wisconsin and, in many cases, the country.”

PulseNet, established in 1996 as a network of state laboratories performing PFGE testing, plays a vital role in the surveillance and investigation of foodborne illness outbreaks. PulseNet has grown into an international network that now includes 51 state health departments, 14 local health departments, 14 federal agencies (USDA, FDA and CDC) and a total of 67 participating countries within six established regional networks (PulseNet Asia Pacific, PulseNet Canada, PulseNet Europe, PulseNet Latin America, PulseNet Middle East and PulseNet USA).

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Written By: Jan Klawitter, WSLH Public Affairs & Training Manager
Date: May 11, 2007

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