BILL NUMBER: ACR 141	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Fletcher and Blakeslee

                        MARCH 3, 2010

   Relative to Viral Hepatitis Awareness Day.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 141, as introduced, Fletcher. Viral Hepatitis Awareness Day.
   This measure would declare May 19, 2010, to be Viral Hepatitis
Awareness Day in California.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, Liver cancer and liver disease related to hepatitis B and
C are two of the leading killers in California; and
   WHEREAS, Hepatitis C is the most prevalent blood-borne disease in
the United States and in California; and
   WHEREAS, Early detection of hepatitis B or C infection promotes
effective management or treatment of these infections, preventing
disability, loss of productivity and income, and allowing people to
live full, satisfying, and productive lives; and
   WHEREAS, Undetected and untreated hepatitis B or C infection can
lead to disability or death; and
   WHEREAS, The majority of the estimated 500,000 Californians with
chronic hepatitis C infection do not know they are infected, and are
therefore at high risk of severe liver disease, liver cancer, or
liver failure; and
   WHEREAS, The majority of the estimated 125,000 California
residents with hepatitis B infection do not know they are infected,
and are therefore at high risk of severe liver disease, liver cancer,
or liver failure; and
   WHEREAS, Untreated hepatitis B and C are the leading causes of
liver failure requiring liver transplant; and
   WHEREAS, There is a vaccine for the prevention of hepatitis B, the
first proven, low-cost vaccination against any form of cancer made
available to Americans; and
   WHEREAS, The cost of hospitalizations for liver cancer and liver
disease reached $2 billion in California in 2007, mostly paid for by
tax-supported public health insurers; and
   WHEREAS, Hepatitis awareness education campaigns and accessible
screening for hepatitis B and C, along with appropriate treatment,
can reduce the damage from hepatitis B and C viral infection to
individuals and to our community, financially, as well as physically
and emotionally; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That May 19, 2010, is hereby proclaimed by the
Legislature as Viral Hepatitis Awareness Day; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.