BILL NUMBER: SCR 24	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  65
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  JULY 6, 2009
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  MAY 14, 2009
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JULY 2, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Ashburn

                        MARCH 17, 2009

   Relative to Valley Fever Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 24, Ashburn. Valley Fever Awareness Month.
   This measure would proclaim August 2009 as Valley Fever Awareness
Month.



   WHEREAS, Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis), a progressive,
multisymptom, respiratory disorder, is a debilitating disease; and
   WHEREAS, It is caused by the inhalation of tiny airborne fungi
that live in soil, but are released into the air by soil disturbance
or wind; and
   WHEREAS, Valley fever attacks the respiratory system, causing
infection that can lead to symptoms that resemble a cold, influenza,
or pneumonia redundant; and
   WHEREAS, 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, treatment must be prompt with
antifungal drugs that are disagreeable and often toxic, especially
for patients who have them injected beneath the base of their skulls
for meningitis, causing 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, In the last 10 years, infection rates in California and
Arizona have risen 400 percent, from an estimated 1,600 cases in 1996
to over 8,000 cases in 2006; and
   WHEREAS, Central valley prison inmates are being infected by
valley fever at epidemic levels, contributing significantly to the
state's prison health care costs; and
   WHEREAS, Valley fever kills between 100 and 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 has been a disease studied for the past 100
years, but still remains impossible to control and difficult to
treat; and
   WHEREAS, There is no known cure to date for valley fever; however,
researchers are closer than they ever have been to finding a much
needed vaccine to cure this devastating disease; and
   WHEREAS, The research effort to find a vaccine and a funding
partnership, including funding from 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
2009 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.