Full Text of HR1062 099th General Assembly
HR1062 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The month of May is nationally recognized as | 3 | | Hepatitis Awareness Month, thanks to the "Know More Hepatitis" | 4 | | campaign initiative undertaken by the United States Centers for | 5 | | Disease Control's Division of Viral Hepatitis; the campaign is | 6 | | designed to increase awareness about the hidden epidemic that | 7 | | affects the lives of so many; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Hepatitis is a disease that primarily affects the | 9 | | liver through inflammation; toxins, certain drugs, heavy | 10 | | alcohol use, and bacterial and viral infections can all cause | 11 | | hepatitis; the most common types are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, | 12 | | and Hepatitis C, each caused by three different viruses; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Hepatitis is particularly dangerous because the | 14 | | symptoms do not manifest upon contraction and in some cases, | 15 | | not even in more advanced stages; this unfortunately leads to | 16 | | individuals going unaware of their infection; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Of the three most prevalent types of hepatitis, | 18 | | the Hepatitis C virus is the most pernicious; there are | 19 | | vaccines for Hepatitis A and B, but no such vaccine exists for | 20 | | Hepatitis C; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Hepatitis C is primarily transmitted through |
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| 1 | | exposure to infected blood; most cases result from sharing | 2 | | needles or other paraphernalia used to inject drugs; prior to | 3 | | 1992, when screening for the virus was not common practice, | 4 | | Hepatitis C was frequently spread through blood transfusions | 5 | | and organ transplants; there are certain demographics that have | 6 | | been identified as most at-risk; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Anyone can get Hepatitis C, but baby boomers are | 8 | | five times more likely; more than 75% of adults infected are | 9 | | baby boomers; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, According to the CDC, in 2013, there were an | 11 | | estimated 29,718 cases of acute Hepatitis C virus infections | 12 | | reported in the United States; an estimated 3.5 million people | 13 | | in the United States have chronic Hepatitis C; approximately | 14 | | 75-85% of the people who become infected with Hepatitis C | 15 | | develop a chronic infection; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Public | 17 | | Health, from 2005 to 2015, there were 80,068 cases of chronic | 18 | | or resolved Hepatitis C virus infections reported, with 171 | 19 | | other cases reported to be acute forms of the infection; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Of those infected in Illinois, more than half were | 21 | | between the ages of 46 and 60; almost 35% were white, nearly | 22 | | 16% African-American, 1.12% Asian, and 46% were unknown; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, During that same period, Cook County reported the | 2 | | overwhelming majority of cases in Illinois with over 36,000; | 3 | | the City of Chicago alone accounted for almost 13,000; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Numerous private and public organizations such as | 5 | | the American Liver Foundation, the Illinois State Medical | 6 | | Society, the Chicago Department of Public Health, the Illinois | 7 | | Department of Public Health, and the CDC have championed | 8 | | efforts to raise awareness and to find solutions to the | 9 | | problems resulting from the Hepatitis C virus in Illinois and | 10 | | across the country; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, With this initiative in mind, and as a means to | 12 | | help various groups work together to find solutions to many of | 13 | | the problems resulting from the virus, the Hepatitis C Task | 14 | | Force was created in Illinois in 2013 with bipartisan support | 15 | | in both chambers of the General Assembly; the Task Force has | 16 | | been working diligently to develop strategies and to identify | 17 | | and address the needs of those infected with Hepatitis C to | 18 | | improve patient quality of life; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, The commendable efforts of State agencies, | 20 | | advocacy groups, and concerned citizens to help raise awareness | 21 | | of Hepatitis C have undoubtedly helped to reduce the spread of | 22 | | the disease; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 | | designate May of 2016 as "Hepatitis C Awareness Month" in the | 4 | | State of Illinois; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 6 | | delivered to the Governor of Illinois, all other constitutional | 7 | | officers, and all members of the Illinois General Assembly in | 8 | | order to bring further awareness of the prevalence of the | 9 | | Hepatitis C virus in our State and around the country.
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