2021 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 90
BY SENATOR HEWITT
A RESOLUTION
To designate the month of May 2021 as Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month in Louisiana.
WHEREAS, Cystic Fibrosis, commonly referred to as CF, is a genetic disease
affecting approximately thirty thousand children and adults in the United States and nearly
seventy thousand children and adults worldwide, approximately three hundred fifty of whom
live in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, CF involves a defective gene that causes the body to produce an
abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs, and these secretions produce
life-threatening lung infections and obstruct the pancreas, preventing digestive enzymes
from reaching the intestines to help break down and absorb food; and
WHEREAS, more than ten million Americans are symptomless carriers of the
defective CF gene, and CF occurs in approximately one in every three thousand five hundred
live births in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the median age of survival for a person with CF is forty-six years; and
WHEREAS, with advances in the treatment of CF, the number of adults living with
CF has steadily grown, and approximately one thousand new cases of CF are diagnosed each
year; and
WHEREAS, fifty-six percent of persons with CF are eighteen years of age and older,
and people with CF have a variety of symptoms attributed to the more than one thousand
seven hundred mutations of the CF gene; and
WHEREAS, an infant blood screening to detect genetic defects is the most reliable
and least costly method to identify persons likely to have CF; and
WHEREAS, early diagnosis of CF permits early treatment and enhances quality of
life and longevity, and the treatment of CF depends on the stage of the disease and the
organs involved; and
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WHEREAS, clearing mucus from the lungs is an important part of the daily CF
treatment regimen, and other types of treatments include inhaled antibiotics and pancreatic
enzymes; and
WHEREAS, there are four world-class treatment centers in Louisiana which
specialize in the diagnosis of CF and the care of persons with CF; and
WHEREAS, a critical component of treating patients with CF includes access to
innovative treatments, which can play a crucial role in the lives of patients with CF; and
WHEREAS, improving both length and quality of life for people with CF begins
with earlier diagnosis and a greater awareness of the disease and its consequences.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby designate the month of May 2021 as Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month in
Louisiana.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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