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Ch. 457 2006 LAWS OF MARYLAND
Preamble
WHEREAS, Hepatitis C is a silent killer, being largely asymptomatic until
irreversible liver damage may have occurred; and
WHEREAS, Hepatitis C has been characterized by the World Health
Organization as a disease of primary concern to humanity; and
WHEREAS, Hepatitis C currently infects approximately 4.5 million persons in
the United States, and each year there are some 30,000 new infections nationwide;
and
WHEREAS, The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate
that approximately 12,000 persons die annually from the consequences of hepatitis C,
and this number continues to grow each year; and
WHEREAS, The disease is considered to be such a public health threat that the
United States Department of Health and Human Services has initiated a
comprehensive plan to address this significant health problem, beginning with the
identification of, and notification to, hundreds of thousands of persons who are
inadvertently exposed to hepatitis C through blood transfusions; and
WHEREAS, In the absence of a vaccine for hepatitis C, emphasis must be placed
on other means of awareness and prevention of this disease, including, but not limited
to, education of persons at high risk for hepatitis C as defined by the federal Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as police officers, firefighters, health care
workers, and the general public; and
WHEREAS, Educating the public and health care community throughout the
State about hepatitis C will ensure an optimal approach to controlling this lethal
disease; now, therefore,
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That Section(s) 13-901 through 13-905 of Article - Health - General of
the Annotated Code of Maryland be repealed.
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland
read as follows:
Article - Health - General
SUBTITLE 10. HEPATITIS C ADVISORY. COUNCIL VIRUS.
18-1001.
AS FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL:
(1) CONDUCT A NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE THE INCIDENCE OF
THE HEPATITIS C VIRUS IN THE STATE:
(2) INITIATE A STATEWIDE PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TARGETING
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS IN THE STATE TO URGE
HEPATITIS C VIRUS EDUCATION AND TESTING:
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