BILL NUMBER: ACR 48INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Grove (Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Donnelly, Garrick, Harkey, Jeffries, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, and Olsen) APRIL 7, 2011 Relative to Valley Fever Awareness Week. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 48, as introduced, Grove. Valley Fever Awareness Week. This measure would declare April 10 through April 16, 2011, as Valley Fever Awareness Week. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis), a progressive, multisymptom, respiratory disorder, is an orphan disease and has been ignored by the pharmaceutical industry; and WHEREAS, It is caused by the inhalation of tiny airborne fungi, which grow in the soil primarily in the southwest portion of North America, that are released into the air by soil disturbance or wind; and WHEREAS, Valley Fever attacks the respiratory system, causing infection that can lead to symptoms that resemble a cold, influenza, or severe pneumonia; and WHEREAS, Left untreated or mistreated, infection can spread from the lungs into the bloodstream, causing inflammation to the skin, permanent damage to the lungs and bone tissue, and swelling of the membrane surrounding the brain, leading to meningitis, which can be devastating and even fatal; and WHEREAS, Approximately 20 percent of the population of the United States lives in or next to endemic areas and a significant percentage travel to an endemic area every year; 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, An estimated 150,000 infections occur every year in the United States; and WHEREAS, Chronic and disseminated forms of Valley Fever cause significant morbidity, take months to years to resolve, and result in medical costs that average $30,000 per year per case; and WHEREAS, Valley Fever kills an estimated 200 to 300 Americans every year, which is more 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, Dr. Hans E. Einstein is the foremost authority on Valley Fever. After his residency at Kern General Hospital in Bakersfield, California, where he currently resides, he became the assistant medical director of the Kern County tuberculosis sanitarium in Keene. While he was there, he discovered that some patients had Valley Fever rather than tuberculosis. Dr. Einstein has since devoted decades to developing a vaccine for the potentially fatal airborne disease; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature does hereby declare April 10 through April 16, 2011, as Valley Fever Awareness Week; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.