Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HR0705 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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33 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
44 2 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is a growing national public health
55 3 crisis; and
66 4 WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Public
77 5 Health, cases are on the rise in Illinois; and
88 6 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by
99 7 several different strains of bacteria that are carried and
1010 8 spread by ticks; and
1111 9 WHEREAS, Those who are bitten by ticks and subsequently
1212 10 become infected with Lyme disease suffer from fever, fatigue,
1313 11 joint pain, and skin rashes and, in the most severe cases, can
1414 12 be afflicted by serious joint and nervous system problems; and
1515 13 WHEREAS, In the United States, 35,000 to 45,000 cases of
1616 14 Lyme disease are reported to the Federal Centers for Disease
1717 15 Control and Prevention (CDC) each year; the actual number of
1818 16 diagnosed cases is closer to 476,000 annually as it is
1919 17 estimated that only one out of every ten cases of Lyme disease
2020 18 is reported; and
2121 19 WHEREAS, Since the late 20th century, there has been a
2222 20 dramatic increase in the Lyme disease infection rate each
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3131 1 year; Lyme disease infection rates have doubled since 1991
3232 2 from 3.74 cases per 100,000 to 7.95 cases per 100,000; Lyme
3333 3 disease is one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in
3434 4 the United States and the western world; and
3535 5 WHEREAS, Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose; diagnostic
3636 6 tests analyze blood samples to look for the presence of
3737 7 antibodies, an immune response that may not be detectable in
3838 8 the blood until many weeks after the initial tick bite and
3939 9 infection; and
4040 10 WHEREAS, Up to 60 percent of acute cases of Lyme disease
4141 11 are misdiagnosed; and
4242 12 WHEREAS, Those who are diagnosed with the disease early
4343 13 and prescribed sufficient quantities of antibiotics may
4444 14 recover quickly; and
4545 15 WHEREAS, If the diagnosis is delayed or individuals are
4646 16 treated with insufficient antibiotics therapy, many experience
4747 17 late-stage symptoms that become chronic; and
4848 18 WHEREAS, A diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease for those who
4949 19 are not cured by antibiotics and who continue to suffer the
5050 20 apparent effects of the disease is controversial; and
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6161 1 WHEREAS, The newest research seemingly validates the
6262 2 diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease and suggests that heretofore
6363 3 unknown bacterial persister cells remain dormant in the body,
6464 4 evading antibiotics and the immune system, before reinfecting
6565 5 the individual after the standard course of antibiotics has
6666 6 been taken; and
6767 7 WHEREAS, Those who suffer from chronic Lyme disease
6868 8 experience terrible symptoms and often have difficulty finding
6969 9 treatment or answers; many are unable to continue working; and
7070 10 WHEREAS, Public funding for Lyme disease research receives
7171 11 less than two percent of the funding allocated for researching
7272 12 West Nile virus and less than 0.2 percent of the funding that
7373 13 HIV/AIDS research receives, despite Lyme disease having annual
7474 14 case counts that dwarf those of both diseases; therefore, be
7575 15 it
7676 16 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
7777 17 HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7878 18 we urge the federal government to allocate more funding toward
7979 19 finding a cure for the devastating and increasingly prevalent
8080 20 public health crisis that is Lyme disease; and be it further
8181 21 RESOLVED, That we encourage the Illinois Department of
8282 22 Education to begin health education to prevent tick bites for
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9393 1 children who represent the highest risk group for tick-borne
9494 2 diseases; and be it further
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