093_HB0216eng

 
HB0216 Engrossed                     LRB093 02613 MKM 02623 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to public health.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 5.  The Department of Public  Health  Powers  and
 5    Duties  Law  of  the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is
 6    amended by adding Section 2310-376 as follows:

 7        (20 ILCS 2310/2310-376 new)
 8        Sec. 2310-376.  Hepatitis C education and outreach.
 9        (a)  The Illinois General Assembly finds and declares the
10    following:
11             (1)  The  World  Health  Organization  characterizes
12        Hepatitis C as a disease of primary concern to humanity.
13             (2)  Hepatitis C is considered a silent  killer;  no
14        recognizable  signs  or symptoms occur until severe liver
15        damage has occurred.
16             (3)  Studies  indicate   that   nearly   4   million
17        Americans (1.8 percent of the population) carry the virus
18        HCV that causes the disease.
19             (4)  30,000  acute new infections occur each year in
20        the  United  States,  and  only  25  to  30  percent  are
21        diagnosed.
22             (5)  8,000 to 10,000 Americans die from the  disease
23        each year.
24             (6)  200,000  Illinois residents may be carriers and
25        could develop the  debilitating  and  potentially  deadly
26        liver disease.
27             (7)  Inmates   of  correctional  facilities  have  a
28        higher incidence of Hepatitis C and, upon their  release,
29        present   a   significant  health  risk  to  the  general
30        population.
31        (b)  The  Department  shall  conduct  an  education   and
 
HB0216 Engrossed            -2-      LRB093 02613 MKM 02623 b
 1    outreach  campaign,  in  addition  to  its  overall effort to
 2    prevent infectious disease in Illinois,  in  order  to  raise
 3    awareness about and promote prevention of Hepatitis C.