MICROBIOLOGY TESTING PROGRAM

Microbiology Supervisor
Jim Walford
Phone: 307-777-7431
FAX: 307-777-6422

The Microbiology Section of the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory (WPHL) is comprised of specialized laboratory areas. These laboratories are dedicated to provide testing services to the state of Wyoming & its citizens to identify, track, control and prevent infectious diseases. 

It is the responsibility of Clinical Laboratories to report occurances of infectious diseases according to the Reportable Diseases List.  To report, use the Confidential Disease Report form and mail or Fax to the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Section as indicated on the form.

Depending on the laboratory test and specimen to collect, Specimen Collection Supplies are available from the WPHL.  To order supplies print a copy of the Supply Order Form and follow the instructions on the form.  When submitting specimens some special considerations should be noted, please see Miscellaneous Notes and Comments.

WPHL also has a free Courier Service available to sites that are submitting specimens to the Microbiology Section.  To see a list of current Courier Clients and Pickup Sites, download this PDF.  If you are interested in using the courier service, download the Instructions for Courier Pickup PDF document.

The Microbiology Section of WPHL is launching a new clinical Laboratory Requisition Form.  All submitters have been sent a notification letter and a master copy of the new form.  The master copy has the address of your facility prefilled on the form.  All sites may also download the form as a PDF on this site or may request the form from WPHL.  The form on this web page does not have the prefilled address of each submitting facility.

Microbiology Testing Laboratories and Related Programs

All Hazards Response Program

Bacteriology Laboratory
         Antimicrobial Susceptibility
         Parasitology Testing

Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory 
         Food-borne disease investigation
         Salmonella Serotyping
         Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) 

Immunology Laboratory (Hepatitis and HIV)
         NAAT For Chlamydia and Neisseria gonorrhoeae Testing

Influenza Surveillance Testing

Mycobacteriology (TB) Laboratory
         TB genotyping

Mycology Testing

Serology Laboratory

Strep Throat Program

Water Testing Laboratory

Local, Regional and National Affiliations
Associations with state agencies, county & city groups and national professional entities ensures that citizens of Wyoming receive state-of-the-art testing services from the Microbiology  laboratories.  The list of these cooperative associations is long and includes: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), WY City/County Health Departments, health care providers, and laboratories, Schools, Coroners, EPA, DEQ, and state labs such as the State Veterinary Lab and Game & Fish Lab.

 

State Programs Served

Microbiology laboratories provide support to numerous department of health state programs.  HIV/Aids & Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Tuberculosis, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Public Health Nursing, Immunization, Maternal & Child Health, West Nile Virus and Influenza programs are just a few.  

 

Services Provided

Working with many of the department of health programs and various state and regional groups the Microbiology laboratories perform testing associated with a variety of public health situations including:

• Infectious disease outbreak testing
• Drinking water safety testing
• Reference testing for local clinical laboratories
• Strep testing for public schools
• Testing for the immune status of childhood immunizations and other vaccine preventable diseases
• Analysis for classification and identification of food borne illness such as Salmonella
• Testing that aids in the tracking of communicable diseases through antimicrobial susceptibility testing, DNA Sequencing, and DNA fingerprinting (Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis) of infectious agents.

Recent Research Studies
The Microbiology laboratories participate in numerous research studies including those looking at the safety of hot springs, the evaluation of quality of specimens for diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases, the extent of regional West Nile virus infection, the presence of Salmonella in pets, and the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in women of childbearing age.