Cannabinoids and opioids are two of the most commonly identified substance classes in Wisconsin’s impaired drivers. That said, these two classes of compounds are having profound impacts on our society, with shifting chemical structures and public perceptions.

UW-Madison Assistant Professor Heather Barkholtz gave a Brown Bag presentation for Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene staff about the increasing prevalence of cannabinoids and opioids in society and knowledge gaps surrounding their use. Specifically, Dr. Barkholtz discussed the field of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) isomers and efforts to better understand risks and protective factors associated with non-fatal overdoses.

Brown Bag recording

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has named the Wisconsin Wastewater Surveillance Program a National Center of Excellence for wastewater surveillance within the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS). Wisconsin joins just three other CDC NWSS Centers of Excellence in the country.

The Wisconsin Wastewater Surveillance Program is a partnership between the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences. The Wisconsin Wastewater Surveillance Program was an early pioneer during the COVID-19 pandemic in developing and applying wastewater-based surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and is recognized as a national leader in wastewater-based monitoring of human pathogens.

Community-focused wastewater surveillance is a cost-effective tool for public health practice. It involves looking for the presence of pathogens that people shed in sewage, whether or not they have symptoms, and measuring the pathogen levels over time. Individual testing is not required, and it does not depend on individual access to a healthcare or testing location.

By screening for pathogens in untreated wastewater at a given central wastewater treatment facility, wastewater surveillance can help determine whether infections are increasing or decreasing in the community served by that facility and provide early warning about the spread or prevalence of disease. This can help public health agencies engage in prevention efforts where they are most needed and complement other data that public health agencies collect with respect to disease spread.

Read more at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s News

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Everybody poops. Wisconsin is a national leader in using it to monitor public health.

On Wednesday, July 5, Governor Tony Evers signed the Wisconsin 2023-2025 Biennial Budget (2023 Wisconsin Act 19), which directed the Newborn Screening Card Fee to increase to $195.00 per card. The card fee increase is effective 7/11/2023.

An updated order form with the new price is available on our website at https://www.slh.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/230711_updated_NBS-FEE-ORDER-FORM_Fillable.pdf.

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.

 

After more than three years, the world is now in a very different stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. COVID-19 Public Health Emergency has ended, and the World Health Organization has determined that COVID-19 no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.

As COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to decline, public health organizations are updating their approaches to the disease. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 testing is widely available at health care facilities and through at-home testing. Therefore, the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) is transitioning SARS-CoV-2 test criteria to be in line with testing for influenza and other respiratory viruses at the WSLH.

Beginning on June 12, 2023, WSLH will only test samples for SARS-CoV-2 that meet the following criteria:

• Surveillance samples requested by the WSLH
  • WSLH currently requests that each clinical laboratory submit 5 positive SARS-CoV-2 samples per week
• Post-mortem cause of death investigations
• Public Health outbreak investigations as directed by state, local, and tribal public health departments. Pre-approval is required.
• Other testing as directed by public health departments

Samples that meet the above criteria will be tested using a multiplex assay that includes SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, and influenza B. Submitters will receive results for all three of these viruses.

Submitter letter

Dr. Dagmara Antkiewicz (2nd from right) with the WSLH Wastewater-Based Epidemiology team and WSLH Environmental Toxicology, gave an update on the WSLH’s use of wastewater surveillance for COVID and other respiratory diseases at the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) ID Lab Con.

Dr. Antkiewicz spoke about the technical challenges of wastewater surveillance testing, as well as highlighted the WSLH’s use of genomic sequencing as part of our work. Her fellow panel presenters from Virginia, Utah, New York and the District of Columbia spoke on other aspects of using wastewater as a surveillance tool.

Read more about the panel discussion

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.

 

Lexi Duncan joined the WSLH PFAS research laboratory in February 2021 as one of four inaugural Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Environmental Health Laboratory Fellows.

According to APHL, the Environmental Health Laboratory Fellowship program “trains and prepares scientists for public health and environmental laboratory careers and supports human exposure projects through targeted environmental or biomonitoring surveillance. Its mission is to provide a high-quality training experience for the fellow, and expand public health laboratory workforce capacity.”

Lexi’s work at the WSLH began with gaining both lab and field experience in sampling and testing for PFAS compounds in multiple matrices. She is also working on bringing up a method to analyze these same samples for total organic fluorine (TOF) using combustion ion chromatography to provide a general measure for total PFAS.

In addition to her lab work, Lexi is also gaining valuable experience in the outreach and policy realm by developing talking points for partner agencies and other scientists “… on how TOF can be used to advance regulatory and science goals.”

Lexi and her fellowship mentor Martin Shafer are featured in the winter edition of APHL’s Lab Matters magazine.

Here’s a Q&A with Lexi on her fellowship and her experiences here at the WSLH.

When did you start your APHL fellowship and how long will it last?

My Fellowship started on February 21, 2021, and I have extended my Fellowship to end in November of 2023.

What appealed to you about the APHL fellowship program? About the WSLH?

The APHL fellowship program allowed me to gain experience and connections within the Laboratory community, and I wanted the chance to impact public health positively. I chose WSLH because my mentor, Martin Shafer, was very passionate about how PFAS negatively affects the environment and the population. I knew with the amount of passion Martin had for his field, he would be a great person to learn from. I also did my research before selecting my laboratory, and WSLH is one of the best labs in the nation.

What has been your favorite part of the Fellowship so far?

My Favorite part of my Fellowship has been participating in fieldwork. I enjoyed collecting and following a sample through the complete sample processing steps. I have also enjoyed working with different state and government organizations, such as the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during PFAS Research Center’s projects.

How will the Fellowship help you in your career plans?

My Fellowship has helped my career plans by allowing me to gain hands-on experience and network with significant people in the lab community. Before accepting this Fellowship, I never saw myself working in a laboratory, but now I know the lab is where I am meant to be.

 

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.

 

On Tuesday, January 17, 2023 the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) Communicable Disease Division (CDD) will change testing to the new Abbott Alinity i instrument for several serological hepatitis, HIV and syphilis assays.

Please read this letter for more information.