BILL NUMBER: SCR 142 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 154
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 30, 2016
ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Fuller
(Principal coauthor: Senator Runner)
(Coauthors: Senators Bates, Berryhill, Monning, Vidak, and
Wieckowski)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Travis Allen, Baker, Chávez, Lackey,
and Olsen)
MAY 9, 2016
Relative to Valley Fever Awareness Month.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 142, Fuller. Valley Fever Awareness Month.
This measure would declare August 2016 as Valley Fever Awareness
Month.
WHEREAS, Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis), a progressive,
multisymptom, respiratory disorder, is a debilitating disease; and
WHEREAS, Valley Fever is caused by the inhalation of tiny airborne
fungi that live in the soil but are released into the air by soil
disturbance or wind; and
WHEREAS, Valley Fever attacks the respiratory system, causing
infections that can lead to symptoms that resemble a cold, influenza,
or pneumonia; and
WHEREAS, If left untreated or mistreated, infection can spread
from the lungs into the bloodstream, causing inflammation to the
skin, permanent damage to lung and bone tissue, and swelling of the
membrane surrounding the brain, leading to meningitis, which can be
devastating and even fatal; and
WHEREAS, Once serious symptoms of Valley Fever appear, including
pneumonia and labored breathing, prompt treatment with often toxic
antifungal drugs must be given, which is especially disagreeable for
patients who require the drugs to be injected beneath the base of
their skulls for meningitis and which can cause side effects such as
nausea, fever, and kidney damage; and
WHEREAS, Within California alone, Valley Fever is found in
portions of the Sacramento Valley, all of the San Joaquin Valley,
desert regions, and portions of southern California; and
WHEREAS, California does not have an official statewide method of
tracking the rate of Valley Fever infections; and
WHEREAS, According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), Valley Fever infection rates rose twelvefold
nationwide from 1995 to 2009, and researchers estimate that the
fungus infects more than 150,000 people each year who either suffer
serious ailments without knowing the cause of their illness or escape
detection of the disease; and
WHEREAS, According to the CDC, between 1999 and 2011, the rate of
infection of Valley Fever in California rose more than 600 percent,
from 939 cases in 1999 to 5,697 cases in 2011, before declining to
2,243 cases in 2014; and
WHEREAS, In Kern County, the rate of infection of Valley Fever
more than tripled from 2009, for a total of 2,051 cases in 2010 and
2,734 cases in 2011, before declining to 1,210 cases in 2014; and
WHEREAS, San Joaquin County Public Health Services recorded 27
cases of Valley Fever in 2009, 46 cases in 2010, and 123 cases in
2011; and
WHEREAS, Although the rate of Valley Fever infection in California
has declined since 2011, it continues to infect Californians at more
than twice the rate of infection in 1999; and
WHEREAS, Misdiagnosis of Valley Fever is so pervasive that experts
say some people suffer and even die from Valley Fever without
knowing they ever had the disease; and
WHEREAS, The Governor declared a Drought State of Emergency on
January 17, 2014, and California is experiencing record dry
conditions; and
WHEREAS, Dry conditions and lack of precipitation present urgent
problems regarding Valley Fever; and
WHEREAS, Valley Fever is usually found in soil two to eight inches
from the surface, and the extreme dry conditions caused by drought
increase the chances of coccidioidomycosis airborne fungi exposure;
and
WHEREAS, Central Valley prison inmates have been infected by
Valley Fever at epidemic rates, contributing significantly to the
state's prison health care costs; and
WHEREAS, The rapid spread of Valley Fever at state prisons in the
Central Valley has resulted in multiple prison inmate deaths and
prompted calls to close certain affected prisons, further
exacerbating efforts to comply with federal orders to reduce prison
overcrowding; and
WHEREAS, Valley Fever kills between 100 to 200 more Americans
every year than tuberculosis; and
WHEREAS, Valley Fever most seriously affects the young, the
elderly, those with lowered immune systems, and those of African
American and Filipino descent; and
WHEREAS, Valley Fever is a disease that has been studied for the
past 100 years but still remains impossible to control and difficult
to treat; and
WHEREAS, There is no known cure for Valley Fever, but researchers
are closer than ever to finding a much-needed vaccine against this
devastating disease; and
WHEREAS, The research effort to find a vaccine for Valley Fever
and a funding partnership including the State of California were
approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor Wilson in 1997;
now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature does hereby proclaim August
2016 as Valley Fever Awareness Month; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.