The 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 have transformed newborn screening and what the future may hold.

Webinar – https://slhstream2.ad.slh.wisc.edu/Mediasite/Play/12586784e8e54882a90208522e21f8001d

 

According 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 3.7 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers. Nationally, the total recordable case rate declined from 3.2 cases in 2016 to 3.1 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2017.

Background
SOII is the largest work injury data survey conducted nationwide. The Wisconsin BLS program collects data annually from a representative sample of 6,000 establishments, with a 94% survey response rate.

WI 2017 Summary Key Findings:*

• Private industry incident rate decreased from 3.7 to 3.6. State and local government total incident rate remained consistent at 4.1. (See Chart 1)
• Trade, transportation and utilities, professional and business services, leisure, entertainment and hospitality, and other services (excluding public administration) sectors show increases in rates from the prior year; other industries remained constant or showed lower rates. (See Chart 2)
• The total recordable cases (82,400) and number of days away from work cases (22,800) decreased from last year while cases with job transfer or restriction increased by 1,200 to 18,700 cases and other recordable cases remained constant at 40,800.
• State-owned nursing care and residential facilities had the highest rate of injury of any sub-industry in the public or private sectors. (See Chart 3)
• Private sector sub-industries with the highest injury rates include: Miscellaneous store retailers (8.8), Couriers and messengers (8.2), and Crop production (8.1). (See Chart 3)
• After 5 years remaining constant at 7 days away, the median days away decreased to 6 days among days away from work cases in 2017.

*For charts and tables of Wisconsin data, including case and demographic profiles, go to www.slh.wisc.edu/bls.

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, a part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the state’s public, environmental and occupational health laboratory. The WSLH’s Bureau of Labor Statistics/Occupational Safety and Health Statistics Unit have a cooperative agreement with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to conduct their annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in Wisconsin.

According 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 workers in 2017. The number of workplace deaths in Wisconsin the past decade (2008-2017) range from 77 in 2008 to 114 in 2012, and average 98 fatalities annually.

The final count of occupational fatalities in the U.S. in 2017 was 5,147, according to figures the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released last month. This was a slight decrease from 5,190 total fatal incidents in 2016. The U.S. fatality rate decreased from 3.6 in 2016 to 3.5 cases per 100,000 full time employees in 2017.

Key findings for Wisconsin in 2017:
• The total fatal incidents decreased among industry supersectors such as Manufacturing, Trade, transportation, and utilities, and Professional business services. Increases were noted in Natural resources and mining, Construction, Financial activities, and Government. Education and health services remained constant from 2016.

• Transportation incidents caused the most fatalities, as is typically true, though 2017 data show a continued trend in decreased incidents from the prior year, reduced from 38 incidents in 2016 to 35 in 2017. Management occupations, including farmers, were most prevalent with 27 incidents in 2017; transportation workers were the next most prevalent occupation type at 17 incidents.

• After more than doubling from 2015 to 2016, violent incidents declined from 23 in 2016 to 20 in 2017, the same number of incidents attributed to contact with objects and equipment last year.

• Of the 106 fatal incidents, only 9 were women in 2017, down from 16 of 105 total cases in 2016.

• Employees age 65 and over sustained the highest number of fatalities with 29 incidents, up from 23 last year.

Industry
In 2017, 96 of the 106 work-related deaths in Wisconsin occurred within private industry. Public sector deaths increased from 7 deaths in 2016 to 10 in 2017. Among subsectors, the Agriculture, fishing, forestry, and hunting fatality count increased from 20 in 2016 to 24 in 2017. Construction incidents increased from 12 in 2016 to 17 in 2017, while the trade, transportation, and utilities fell from 24 to 18 incidents. Manufacturing industry deaths fell for the second year in a row with 9 incidents last year, down from 12 in 2016 and 14 in 2015.

Event
Transportation incidents comprised the highest number of fatal work injuries in 2017 with 35 incidents, a decrease for the second year in a row, from 38 incidents in 2016 and 46 incidents in 2015. Violent incidents decreased from 23 cases in 2016 to 20 cases; contact with objects and equipment also had 20 incidents in 2017, up from 16 in 2016. Falls, slips, and trips increased from 16 in 2016 to 18 incidents in 2017. Deaths due to exposure to harmful substance or environments remained consistent from 2015 to 2016 at 11 incidents. Fires and explosions resulted in 7 fatalities last year; exposure events were responsible for 6 fatalities.

Worker Characteristics and Occupation
Of the 106 fatalities in 2017, 9 workers were in contractor status, consistent with the prior year. Forty were self-employed while 66 were working for wages. The highest number of fatal work injuries occurred among age group 65 years and older with 29 deaths, followed by age 55 to 64 with 24 incidents. Management occupations (including farmers and farm managers) sustained the greatest number of fatal injuries in 2017 at 27 incidents, followed by transportation and material mover occupations with 17 deaths. Construction and extraction occupations rose slightly from 2016 to 2017 from 13 incidents to 15, while 10 deaths occurred among installation, maintenance, and repair workers.

Background of Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the United States during the calendar year. The program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH), a part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the state’s public, environmental and occupational health laboratory. The WSLH’s Bureau of Labor Statistics/Occupational Safety and Health Statistics Program has a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to conduct the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in Wisconsin.

For more about Wisconsin Work-related fatalities, go to www.slh.wisc.edu/bls

For more about U.S. Work-related fatalities, go to https://www.bls.gov/iif/news.htm

The 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 upwards of 300 specimens a day, adding extra shifts and working through the weekends. The WSLH was able to handle the load because of years of federal funding that helped build flu-fighting infrastructure.

But as with all infrastructures, building it is just the first step – maintaining it is just as important.

Read more about how Wisconsin and other states have utilized funding to quickly respond to influenza and what’s at stake if it is cut.

 

Between 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 2018 AR Investment Map.

Antibiotic resistance (AR) is when bacteria do not respond to the drugs used to treat infections. According to the CDC, AR “…threatens to return us to the time when simple infections were often fatal.”

In fiscal year 2018, Wisconsin received more than $3.2 million from the CDC to combat AR threats, including funding for the WSLH to be 1 of 7 AR Laboratory Network regional labs.

Learn more about the WSLH and other Wisconsin AR activities

Read more in the 2018-2019 WSLH Annual Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Vimont with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

Science Day will be held at the WSLH’s laboratory at 2601 Agriculture Drive, Madison.

The talks will also be live-streamed on the web and archived for later viewing.

For more information and a schedule of talks – https://www.slh.wisc.edu/science-day-2019/

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.

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

 

The 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 https://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 of the WSLH exemplify the Wisconsin Idea and have “Forward” encoded in our DNA.

Read more

A 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 creates an overproduction of the hormone androstenedione, leading to ambiguous genitalia in females. It also causes decreased production of the hormones aldosterone and cortisol, which can cause an electrolyte imbalance leading to a “salt wasting crisis” and resulting in shock and death within the first week of a baby’s life if left untreated.

The WSLH began newborn screening testing for CAH in 1993 using an immune assay test that measures the concentration of an analyte through use of an antibody and fluorescent tag. However, the antibody may also bind to other analytes causing cross-reactivity, resulting in false positive results (i.e., the test results say the baby has the disorder when they really don’t). The chance for false positive results increases even more for babies that are stressed, such as those in a neonatal intensive care unit, because their cortisol and other steroid levels are already elevated.

In 2016, 428 babies in Wisconsin had abnormal CAH screening results based on this 1^st tier immune assay test according to Dr. Patrice Held, WSLH Newborn Screening Co-Director and UW assistant professor of pediatrics. Of those 428 babies, only five were confirmed to have the disorder.

“These are typical statistics for not only Wisconsin, but for all states that perform just the 1^st tier screening test for CAH using an immune assay,” Held said.

In 2017, WSLH Newborn Screening Advanced Chemist Eric Bialk began developing a 2^nd tier test that would be run if the 1^st tier test result is abnormal. This 2^nd tier test measures five different steroids instead of just one and is performed using more sensitive technology – LC/MS-MS.

When the additional test went live in March 2018, Wisconsin became one of just a few states to implement a 2^nd tier test for CAH.

“We wanted to implement a 2^nd tier test to increase the specificity of the screening in order to decrease the number of false positives,” Held explained. “The 2^nd tier test is performed on the same sample we receive for the initial newborn screen so we don’t need to contact the baby’s physician to collect another specimen, prematurely raising anxiety before knowing whether there is an increased likelihood for disease.”

According to Held, in the first six months since the 2^nd tier test was implemented, 245 babies had abnormal results from the 1^st tier CAH screen. After the 2^nd tier test was performed, that number dropped to 16. Ultimately, three babies were confirmed to have the disorder. The 2^nd tier test reduced the false positive rate by 93%.

“Implementing the 2^nd tier test means our lab staff only had to contact 16 babies’ doctors about abnormal test results rather than 245,” Held said. “That’s a decrease in our staff time, a decrease in the time primary care physicians need to spend following up on the abnormal results, and, most importantly a decrease in stress for families who didn’t need to worry.”

In October, Held and Bialk won the Best Poster Award at the International Society for Neonatal Screening Conference for their description of the validation process of the 2^nd tier test.

At 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.  We want to thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to serving you in the years to come. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact WSLH Chief Financial Officer Kevin Karbowski at kevin.karbowski@slh.wisc.edu or  (608) 265-4511.