BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SCR 24|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 24
Author: Ashburn (R)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE
SUBJECT : Valley Fever Awareness Month
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution proclaims August 2009 as Valley
Fever Awareness Month.
ANALYSIS :
Resolution Findings
1.Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis), a progressive,
multisymptom, respiratory disorder, is a debilitating
disease. 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.
2.Valley fever attacks the respirator system, causing
infection that can lead to symptoms that resemble a cold,
influenza, or pneumonia redundant. 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 selling of the
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membrane surrounding the brain, leading to meningitis,
which can be devastating and even fatal.
3.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 been injected
beneath the base of their skulls for meningitis, causing
side effects such as nausea, fever, and kidney failure.
4.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.
5.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.
6.Central valley prison inmates are being infected by
valley fever at epidemic levels, contributing
significantly to the state's prison health care costs.
7.Valley fever kills between 100 and 200 more Americans
every year than tuberculosis. Valley fever most
seriously affects the young, the elderly, those with
lowered immune systems, and those of African American and
Filipino descent.
8.Valley fever has been a disease studied for the past 100
years, but still remains impossible to control and
difficult to treat. 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.
9.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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
CTW:cm 5/7/09 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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