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LRB094 07033 RSP 37173 b |
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| AN ACT in relation to educational materials on hepatitis C |
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| for veterans.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Department of Public Health Powers and |
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| Duties Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is |
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| amended by changing Section 2310-376 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 2310/2310-376)
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| Sec. 2310-376. Hepatitis C education and outreach.
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| (a) The Illinois General Assembly finds and declares the |
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| following:
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| (1) The World Health Organization characterizes |
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| Hepatitis C as a disease
of
primary concern to humanity.
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| (2) Hepatitis C is considered a silent killer; no |
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| recognizable signs or
symptoms occur until severe liver |
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| damage has occurred.
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| (3) Studies indicate that nearly 4 million Americans |
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| (1.8 percent of the
population) carry the virus HCV that |
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| causes the disease.
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| (4) 30,000 acute new infections occur each year in the |
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| United States,
and
only 25 to 30 percent are diagnosed.
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| (5) 8,000 to 10,000 Americans die from the disease each |
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| year.
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| (6) 200,000 Illinois residents may be carriers and |
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| could develop the
debilitating and potentially deadly |
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| liver disease.
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| (7) Inmates of correctional facilities have a higher |
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| incidence of
Hepatitis
C and, upon their release, present a |
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| significant health risk to the general
population.
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| (8) Illinois members of the armed services are subject |
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| to an increased risk of contracting Hepatitis C due to |
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| their possible receipt of contaminated blood during a |
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| transfusion occurring for the treatment of wounds and due |
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| to their service in areas of the World where the disease is |
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| more prevalent and healthcare is less capable of detecting |
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| and treating the disease. Many of these service members are |
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| unaware of the danger of Hepatitis C and their increased |
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| risk of contracting the disease.
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| (b) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall conduct |
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| an education and
outreach campaign, in
addition to its overall |
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| effort to prevent infectious disease in Illinois, in
order to
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| raise awareness about and promote prevention of Hepatitis C.
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| (c) In addition to the education and outreach campaign |
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| provided in subsection (b), the Department shall develop and |
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| make available to physicians, other health care providers, |
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| members of the armed services, and other persons subject to an |
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| increased risk of contracting Hepatitis C, educational |
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| materials, in written and electronic forms, on the diagnosis, |
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| treatment, and prevention of the disease. These materials shall |
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| include the recommendations of the federal Centers for Disease |
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| Control and Prevention and any other persons or entities |
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| determined by the Department to have particular expertise on |
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| Hepatitis C, including the American Liver Foundation. These |
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| materials shall be written in terms that are understandable by |
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| members of the general public.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-129, eff. 1-1-04.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| becoming law.
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