HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

72

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE governor, the director OF HEALTH, and the director of civil defense TO PREPARE FOR A POSSIBLE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC.

 

 

WHEREAS, for individuals who are chronically ill and those who are most at risk for serious complications, influenza can be a life-threatening event; and

WHEREAS, in the past, for the most part, the advent of influenza vaccines has kept this disease reasonably manageable -- at least in the countries that can afford them; and

WHEREAS, however, the World Health Organization has recently issued a dramatic warning that bird influenza could trigger an international pandemic that could kill up to seven million people worldwide; and

WHEREAS, there have been three global influenza pandemics in the twentieth century, the worst occurring in 1918-1919 that killed as many as fifty million people and the Asian and Hong Kong influenza in 1957 and 1968, respectively, that each killed about one million people worldwide; and

WHEREAS, influenza pandemics occur when a virulent new strain of influenza, for which there is no vaccine and no human resistance, appears suddenly; and

WHEREAS, a strain of influenza from birds killed thirty-two people in Thailand and Vietnam in 2004, and experts say a pandemic will emerge from an animal, most probably a pig, that can harbor influenza viruses that affect both humans and birds; and

WHEREAS, and some believe that scientists may not be able to develop a vaccine for such influenza virus until 2007; and

WHEREAS, the result is that public health officials must resort to containment measures; and

WHEREAS, because the new virus will probably originate from Asia where the bird influenza is already spreading, it follows that Hawaii may be among the first American lines of defense; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the Governor, the Director of Health, and the Director of Civil Defense are strongly urged to take immediate measures on the state, federal, and global levels to prepare to respond effectively to the possible global influenza pandemic; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor and the Director of Health are requested to seek all possible assistance from other state and federal sources to help meet this challenge; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor and the Director of Health are requested to formulate and submit to the Legislature, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006, a detailed plan to address the possibility of an influenza pandemic spreading to Hawaii from Asia in the near future, including any necessary proposed legislation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Health, and the Adjutant General.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Global Flu Pandemic; State Measures