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TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF WORLD TUBERCULOSIS DAY AS FOCUSING ATTENTION ON ONE OF THE WORLD'S DEADLIEST KILLERS AND TO DECLARE TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2009, AS "SOUTH CAROLINA TUBERCULOSIS DAY."
Whereas, tuberculosis is the greatest infectious killer of women, the greatest killer of people with HIV/AIDS, and the greatest infectious killer of youth and adults worldwide; and
Whereas, the World Health Organization estimates that one third of the world's population is infected with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis; and
Whereas, it is estimated that ten to fifteen million individuals are infected with the tuberculosis bacterium in the United States alone; and
Whereas, worldwide, at least one person is infected with tuberculosis every second; and
Whereas, worldwide, approximately eight million people become sick with tuberculosis each year; and
Whereas, two million people die of tuberculosis every year, one person every fifteen seconds; and
Whereas, most cases of tuberculosis and deaths caused by tuberculosis occur among individuals between the ages of fifteen and forty-four, the most economically productive years of life; and
Whereas, few other infectious diseases create as many orphans as tuberculosis; and
Whereas, tuberculosis rates are substantially higher for minorities in the United States, due to socioeconomic factors such as high unemployment, low median income, and poor living conditions; and
Whereas, the threat to the health of Americans consists of two elements, the global spread of tuberculosis and the emergence and spread of strains of tuberculosis that are multidrug resistant; and
Whereas, tuberculosis is spreading as a result of inadequate treatment, and it is a disease that knows no national borders; and
Whereas, the House of Representatives understands the growing international problem of tuberculosis and the impact its continued existence has on the citizens of South Carolina, as well as on those of the rest of the United States and other nations. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize the importance of World Tuberculosis Day as focusing attention on one of the world's deadliest killers and declare Tuesday, March 24, 2009, as "South Carolina Tuberculosis Day."
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