Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 91

Introduced by Senator Fuller

February 26, 2014

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 91—Relative to Valley Fever Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 91, as introduced, Fuller. Valley Fever Awareness Month.

This measure would declare August 2014 as Valley Fever Awareness Month.

Fiscal committee: no.

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, In the last 10 years, infection rates in California
and Arizona have risen 400 percent, from an estimated 31 cases
for every 100,000 people in 1999 to 157 cases for every 100,000
people in 2011; 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; 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, Valley Fever infection rates rose twelvefold
nationwide from 1995 to 2009, according to the federal Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 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, Misdiagnosis of Valley Fever is so pervasive that
experts say that 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, with 2014 projected to become the driest
year on record; 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 are being 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 2014 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.