Senate Concurrent ResolutionNo. 142


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


Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 142—Relative to Valley Fever Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 142, as introduced, Fuller. Valley Fever Awareness Month

This measure would declare August 2016 as Valley Fever Awareness Month.

Fiscal committee: no.

P1    1WHEREAS, Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis), a progressive,
2multisymptom, respiratory disorder, is a debilitating disease; and

3WHEREAS, Valley Fever is caused by the inhalation of tiny
4airborne fungi that live in the soil but are released into the air by
5soil disturbance or wind; and

6WHEREAS, Valley Fever attacks the respiratory system, causing
7infections that can lead to symptoms that resemble a cold,
8influenza, or pneumonia; and

9WHEREAS, If left untreated or mistreated, infection can spread
10from the lungs into the bloodstream, causing inflammation to the
11skin, permanent damage to lung and bone tissue, and swelling of
12the membrane surrounding the brain, leading to meningitis, which
13can be devastating and even fatal; and

P2    1WHEREAS, Once serious symptoms of Valley Fever appear,
2including pneumonia and labored breathing, prompt treatment with
3often toxic antifungal drugs must be given, which is especially
4disagreeable for patients who require the drugs to be injected
5beneath the base of their skulls for meningitis and which can cause
6side effects such as nausea, fever, and kidney damage; and

7WHEREAS, Within California alone, Valley Fever is found in
8portions of the Sacramento Valley, all of the San Joaquin Valley,
9desert regions, and portions of southern California; and

10WHEREAS, California does not have an official statewide
11method of tracking the rate of Valley Fever infections; and

12WHEREAS, According to the federal Centers for Disease
13Control and Prevention (CDC), Valley Fever infection rates rose
14twelvefold nationwide from 1995 to 2009, and researchers estimate
15that the fungus infects more than 150,000 people each year who
16either suffer serious ailments without knowing the cause of their
17illness or escape detection of the disease; and

18WHEREAS, According to the CDC, between 1999 and 2011,
19the rate of infection of Valley Fever in California rose more than
20600 percent, from 939 cases in 1999 to 5,697 cases in 2011, before
21declining to 2,243 cases in 2014; and

22WHEREAS, In Kern County, the rate of infection of Valley
23Fever more than tripled from 2009, for a total of 2,051 cases in
242010 and 2,734 cases in 2011, before declining to 1210 cases in
252014; and

26WHEREAS, San Joaquin County Public Health Services
27recorded 27 cases of Valley Fever in 2009, 46 cases in 2010, and
28123 cases in 2011; and

29WHEREAS, Although the rate of Valley Fever infection in
30California has declined since 2011, it continues to infect
31Californians at more than twice the rate of infection in 1999; and

32WHEREAS, Misdiagnosis of Valley Fever is so pervasive that
33experts say some people suffer and even die from Valley Fever
34without knowing they ever had the disease; and

35WHEREAS, The Governor declared a Drought State of
36Emergency on January 17, 2014, and California is experiencing
37record dry conditions; and

38WHEREAS, Dry conditions and lack of precipitation present
39urgent problems regarding Valley Fever; and

P3    1WHEREAS, Valley Fever is usually found in soil two to eight
2inches from the surface, and the extreme dry conditions caused by
3drought increase the chances of coccidioidomycosis airborne fungi
4exposure; and

5WHEREAS, Central Valley prison inmates have been infected
6by Valley Fever at epidemic rates, contributing significantly to the
7state’s prison health care costs; and

8WHEREAS, The rapid spread of Valley Fever at state prisons
9in the Central Valley has resulted in multiple prison inmate deaths
10and prompted calls to close certain affected prisons, further
11exacerbating efforts to comply with federal orders to reduce prison
12overcrowding; and

13WHEREAS, Valley Fever kills between 100 to 200 more
14Americans every year than tuberculosis; and

15WHEREAS, Valley Fever most seriously affects the young, the
16elderly, those with lowered immune systems, and those of African
17American and Filipino descent; and

18WHEREAS, Valley Fever is a disease that has been studied for
19the past 100 years but still remains impossible to control and
20difficult to treat; and

21WHEREAS, There is no known cure for Valley Fever, but
22researchers are closer than ever to finding a much-needed vaccine
23against this devastating disease; and

24WHEREAS, The research effort to find a vaccine for Valley
25Fever and a funding partnership including the State of California
26were approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor Wilson
27in 1997; now, therefore, be it

28Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
29thereof concurring,
That the Legislature does hereby proclaim
30August 2016 as Valley Fever Awareness Month; and be it further

31Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
32this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.



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