By Jori Skalitzky, UW–Madison CALS Office of External Relations

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Soil and Forage Analysis Lab, a trusted resource for soil testing services utilized by farmers, gardeners, researchers and others, has moved to a new home — physically and administratively. Formerly housed at the university’s Marshfield Agricultural Research Station in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the lab is now part of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) and located in a WSLH facility in Madison, Wisconsin.

“The Soil and Forage Analysis Lab is a great addition to the State Lab of Hygiene, as we already offer a wide variety of tests related to public and environmental health, primarily focusing on water and air,” says Jamie Schauer, WSLH director and professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UW–Madison. “This addition will serve as an engine to drive research and promote activity in the space of soil, with the big-picture goal of studying and supporting a healthy environment.”

The WSLH, established in 1903, is part of UW­–Madison and serves as the state’s official public, environmental and occupational health laboratory. It provides analytical services, research and development, public health programs, laboratory proficiency testing, and training and education of students and professionals.

The Soil and Forage Analysis Lab offers a suite of soil testing packages, including for farm, lawn and garden, turfgrass and forest soils. It also offers a wide variety of individual tests, quantifying single compounds or nutrients found in soil, forage, manure and plants.

Learn more at – https://news.cals.wisc.edu/2022/12/05/uw-soil-and-forage-analysis-lab-moves-to-wisconsin-state-lab-of-hygiene/

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.

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

NOTE: The WSLH Environmental Health Division also will be closed on December 26th and January 2nd. For environmental health samples – including water testing samples – it is best to submit your samples as early in the weeks of December 19th and 26th as possible due to the holidays.

 

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene will be closed on Thursday, November 24, 2022 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

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

 

 

 

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations for the Labor Day holiday.

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

 

On Thursday, September 1, 2022 the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) will begin testing for Mycoplasma genitalium using the Aptima Transcription-Mediated Amplification (TMA) assay. This assay uses nucleic acid probes and TMA for the qualitative detection of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) to aid in the diagnosis of M. genitalium infection. The M. genitalium assay uses the same Aptima collection kits currently used for CT/GC testing and a single specimen can be used for multiple tests. M. genitalium testing is available for patients 14 years and older.

Read the full test announcement

Stay up to date with Monkeypox testing information at the WSLH on our Monkeypox-2022 web page.

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations for the July 4th holiday.

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

 

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.

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 is one of six wastewater-based epidemiology centers of excellence announced today by Ceres Nanosciences (Ceres).

The Centers of Excellence program is supported by an $8.2 million award given to Ceres from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx®) initiative.

Ceres news release 

WSLH staff made major contributions to two recently released Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) publications.

Senior Scientist Martin Shafer provided a large portion of the content to APHL’s “SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Surveillance Testing Guide for Public Health Laboratories”. Shafer said his contributions were informed by the WSLH COVID Wastewater Surveillance Team.

He said the APHL guide is “…quite a seminal document that public health labs across the country will reference in building their wastewater surveillance programs”.

 

WI Clinical Laboratory Network (WCLN) Coordinator Erin Bowles contributed to APHL’s “Public Health Laboratory Outreach Model Practices for Infectious Disease Programs”.

The publication is a compilation of information gathered from nine interviews with public health laboratories that have sustained an outreach program focused on infectious diseases and incorporates strategies to address the challenges surrounding resource limitations.