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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 454 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 454

Supporting the goals of World Tuberculosis Day to raise awareness about 
                             tuberculosis.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 15, 2010

    Mr. Brown of Ohio submitted the following resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Supporting the goals of World Tuberculosis Day to raise awareness about 
                             tuberculosis.

Whereas tuberculosis (TB) is the second leading global infectious disease killer 
        behind HIV/AIDS, claiming 1,800,000 lives each year;
Whereas the global TB pandemic and spread of drug resistant TB present a 
        persistent public health threat to the United States;
Whereas according to 2009 data from the World Health Organization, 5 percent of 
        all new TB cases are drug resistant;
Whereas TB is the leading killer of people with HIV/AIDS;
Whereas TB is the third leading killer of adult women, and the stigma associated 
        with TB disproportionately affects women, causing them to delay seeking 
        care and interfering with treatment adherence;
Whereas the Institute of Medicine found that the resurgence of TB between 1980 
        and 1992 was caused by cuts in TB control funding and the spread of HIV/
        AIDS;
Whereas, although the numbers of TB cases in the United States continue to 
        decline, progress towards TB elimination has slowed, and it is a disease 
        that does not recognize borders;
Whereas an extensively drug resistant strain of TB, known as XDR-TB, is very 
        difficult and expensive to treat and has high and rapid fatality rates, 
        especially among HIV/AIDS patients;
Whereas the United States has had more than 83 cases of XDR-TB over the last 
        decade;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in 2009 that it 
        costs $483,000 to treat a single case of XDR-TB;
Whereas African-Americans are 8 times more likely to have TB than Caucasians, 
        and significant disparities exist among other United State minorities, 
        including Native Americans, Asian-Americans, and Hispanic-Americans;
Whereas the United States public health system has the expertise to eliminate 
        TB, but many State TB programs have been left seriously under-resourced 
        due to budget cuts at a time when TB cases are growing more complex to 
        diagnose and treat;
Whereas, although drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines for TB exist, these 
        technologies are antiquated and are increasingly inadequate for 
        controlling the global epidemic;
Whereas the most commonly used TB diagnostic in the world, sputum microscopy, is 
        more than 100 years old and lacks sensitivity to detect TB in most HIV/
        AIDS patients and in children;
Whereas current tests to detect drug resistance take at least 1 month to 
        complete and faster drug susceptibility tests must be developed to stop 
        the spread of drug resistant TB;
Whereas the TB vaccine, BCG, provides some protection to children, but has 
        little or no efficacy in preventing pulmonary TB in adults;
Whereas there is also a critical need for new TB drugs that can safely be taken 
        concurrently with antiretroviral therapy for HIV;
Whereas the Global Health Initiative commits to reducing TB prevalence by 50 
        percent;
Whereas enactment of the Lantos-Hyde Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, TB, and 
        Malaria Act and the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act provide an historic 
        United States commitment to the global eradication of TB, including to 
        the successful treatment of 4,500,000 new TB patients and 90,000 new 
        multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB cases by 2013, while providing additional 
        treatment through coordinated multilateral efforts;
Whereas the United States Agency for International Development provides 
        financial and technical assistance to nearly 40 highly burdened TB 
        countries and supports the development of new diagnostic and treatment 
        tools, and is authorized to support research to develop new vaccines to 
        combat TB;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, working in partnership 
        with United States, States, and territories, directs the national TB 
        elimination program and essential national TB surveillance, technical 
        assistance, prevention activities, and supports the development of new 
        diagnostic, treatment, and prevention tools to combat TB;
Whereas the National Institutes of Health, through its many institutes and 
        centers, plays the leading role in basic and clinical research into the 
        identification, treatment, and prevention of TB;
Whereas the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria provides 63 
        percent of all international financing for TB programs worldwide and 
        finances proposals worth $3,200,000,000 in 112 countries, and TB 
        treatment for 6,000,000 people, 1,800,000 HIV/TB services, and in many 
        countries in which the Global Fund supports programs, TB prevalence is 
        declining, as are TB mortality rates; and
Whereas, March 24, 2010, is World Tuberculosis Day, a day that commemorates the 
        date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of 
        Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the goals of World Tuberculosis Day to raise 
        awareness about tuberculosis;
            (2) commends the progress made by anti-tuberculosis 
        programs, including the United States Agency for International 
        Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
        the National Institutes of Health, and the Global Fund to Fight 
        AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and
            (3) reaffirms its commitment to global tuberculosis control 
        made through the Lantos-Hyde United States Leadership Against 
        HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2008 (Public Law 108-
        25; 117 Stat. 711).
                                 <all>
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