Bill Text: HI HCR222 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Health To Hire A State Veterinary Medical Officer To Prevent The Spread Of Rat Lungworm Disease And Other Zoonotic Diseases In The State's Human Population And To Support Statewide Efforts In Protecting And Improving Human Health.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-28 - Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Souki excused (1). [HCR222 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-HCR222-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	222
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING the department of health to hire a STATE veterinary MEDICAL OFFICER to prevent the spread of rat lungworm disease and other zoonotic diseases in the State's human population and to support statewide efforts in protecting and improving human health.

 

 

 

                WHEREAS, zoonotic diseases are caused by infection from viruses, bacteria, parasites, or fungi and can be transmitted directly or indirectly to humans by consumption of contaminated foodstuffs or contact with infected animals; and

 

     WHEREAS, zoonotic diseases can cause illness of varying severity or even death in people; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that zoonotic diseases are very common and every year tens of thousands of Americans will get sick from them; and

 

     WHEREAS, leptospirosis, E. coli infection, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection, ringworm, toxoplasmosis, salmonella infection, tuberculosis, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza virus, also known as bird flu or swine flu, brucellosis caused by Brucella suis, and angiostrongyliasis cantonensis, more commonly known as rat lungworm disease, are examples of zoonotic diseases; and

 

     WHEREAS, zoonotic diseases are very well understood and studied by veterinarians; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that in the past, the Department of Health had a Public Health Veterinarian position that was filled by a doctor of veterinary medicine; and

     WHEREAS, David Sasaki, doctor of veterinary medicine and a world expert on leptospirosis, filled that position, and also oversaw the production of public health publications that were distributed to Hawaii physicians and veterinarians; and

 

     WHEREAS, those publications were well received and helped educate physicians about disease reporting requirements, the prevalence of a number of diseases in the State, and the appropriate treatment for the diseases; and

 

     WHEREAS, while the publications provided vital information on specific topics such as resistance to antibiotics of common venereal diseases such as gonorrhea, the publications also provided a deeper understanding of the risk of animal diseases to humans; and

 

     WHEREAS, most health departments across the nation have a position filled by a doctor of veterinary medicine that is usually designated as a public health veterinarian; and

 

     WHEREAS, establishing a State Veterinary Medical Officer position within the Department of Health may help to prevent the spread of rat lungworm disease and other zoonotic diseases in the State's human population and support statewide efforts to protect and improve human health; and

 

     WHEREAS, a State Veterinary Medical Officer could also revive public health publications and disseminate the publications in electronic form, as well as couple the publications with continuing medical education for physicians, nurses, and veterinarians to help ensure that the State's health care workforce is continually updated on the latest information on zoonotic diseases; and

 

     WHEREAS, a State Veterinary Medical Officer may also help address the current outbreak of rat lungworm disease in humans, dogs, cats, and horses in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, global warming contributes to the increase of the number and types of viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi that are spread between animals and humans, which makes early detection and study of these vectors and the illnesses they cause imperative to protect public health; now, therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to hire a State Veterinary Medical Officer to help prevent the spread of rat lungworm disease and other zoonotic diseases in the State's human population and support statewide efforts to protect and improve human health; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Veterinary Medical Officer