Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 6–Senators Rawson, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Cegavske, Coffin, Hardy, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, Nolan, O’Connell, Raggio, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Tiffany, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener

 

Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Koivisto, Anderson, Andonov, Angle, Arberry, Atkinson, Beers, Brown, Buckley, Carpenter, Chowning, Christensen, Claborn, Collins, Conklin, Geddes, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goicoechea, Goldwater, Grady, Griffin, Gustavson, Hardy, Hettrick, Horne, Knecht, Leslie, Mabey, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, McCleary, Mortenson, Oceguera, Ohrenschall, Parks, Perkins, Pierce, Sherer, Weber and Williams

 

FILE NUMBER..........

 

Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Commending Nevadans for Antibiotic Awareness for its work on preventing the abuse of antibiotics, and urging public and private health agencies to continue to work together to prevent the abuse of antibiotics in this state.

 

    Whereas, Antibiotics are strong medicines used to treat

 infections caused by bacteria, and they have been responsible since

 their discovery in the 1940s for dramatically reducing illness and

 death caused by infectious diseases and for revolutionizing medical

 care in the 20th century; and

    Whereas, In the United States and throughout the world many

 bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, thereby reducing the

 ability of antibiotics to effectively control bacterial growth and treat

 infectious diseases; and

    Whereas, Antibiotics are only effective against bacterial

 infections and thus should only be used to treat bacterial infections

 and not to treat viral infections such as the common cold, cough,

 most sore throats and the flu; and

    Whereas, According to the Centers for Disease Control, up to

 50 percent of antibiotic use may be inappropriate; and

    Whereas, The widespread overuse and abuse of antibiotics

 promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance thus jeopardizing the

 usefulness of essential medicines; and

    Whereas, Antibiotic resistance can cause significant danger

 and suffering for children and adults who have common infections

 which were at one time easily treatable with antibiotics, making

 antibiotic resistance one of the world’s most pressing public health

 problems as well as one of the top concerns of the Centers for

 Disease Control; and

    Whereas, The consequences of larger numbers of bacteria

becoming resistant to antibiotics include extra visits to health care

 providers, hospitalization and extended hospital stays, the need for

 more expensive antibiotics to replace the ineffective antibiotics, lost

 time at school or work, and sometimes death; and

    Whereas, Persons who are ill and the parents of ill children can

 prevent the development of antibiotic-resistant infections by

 ensuring that antibiotics are only taken for bacterial infections and

 not for viral infections, that antibiotics are taken exactly as directed,

 that the entire regimen is completed as directed by a health care

 provider and that antibiotics are taken only by the person for whom

 they were prescribed; and

    Whereas, Health care providers can prevent the development

 of antibiotic-resistant infections by prescribing antibiotic therapy

 only when it is likely to be beneficial to the patient and by

 prescribing antibiotic therapy in the proper dose and for the correct

 amount of time using an agent that targets the bacteria that are

 likely causing the illness; and

    Whereas, By promoting and practicing good hygiene,

 including washing hands often and thoroughly, cooking meat

 properly, washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly, and handling

 food hygienically, people can prevent many infections and thus

 lessen the need for antibiotics; and

    Whereas, Nevadans for Antibiotic Awareness is a statewide

 task force of over 40 state and local public and private agencies and

 companies committed to addressing the problem of antibiotic

 resistance by educating the public about the consequences of the

 inappropriate use of antibiotics, training health care providers

 concerning the appropriate use of antibiotics, decreasing the

 inappropriate use of antibiotics and improving the control and

 surveillance of infections; and

    Whereas, Nevadans for Antibiotic Awareness has partnered

 with the Centers for Disease Control and 31 other states to develop

 programs to increase awareness of the public health dangers of

 antibiotic resistance; and

    Whereas, Nevadans for Antibiotic Awareness has addressed

 the serious public health issue of antibiotic resistance in the State of

 Nevada by developing and distributing statewide guidelines for the

 use of antibiotics, developing and delivering a comprehensive

 educational program for health care providers, establishing a

 bilingual media campaign with the support of its partners,

 conducting surveillance of antibiotic resistance rates for certain

 bacteria, and distributing educational materials throughout

 emergency rooms, pharmacies, health care facilities, doctor’s

 offices, school nurse offices and childcare facilities in this state;

 and

    Whereas, The effectiveness of the work done by Nevadans for

Antibiotic Awareness is evidenced by a decrease in the use of

 common antibiotics by outpatients in Nevada and its recognition by

 the Centers for Disease Control as having one of the best programs

 in the United States addressing the abuse of antibiotics and the

 development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the

 Assembly Concurring, That the Nevada Legislature is

 committed to creating a greater public understanding of the abuse

 of antibiotics and to supporting the need for educating the public

 and health care providers on the consequences of abusing

 antibiotics; and be it further

    Resolved, That the Nevada Legislature commends Nevadans

 for Antibiotic Awareness for its efforts in educating the public and

 health care providers in this state about the harm that results from

 the abuse of antibiotics and the actions that residents of this state

 can take to address this serious public health issue; and be it further

    Resolved, That the Health Division of the Department of

 Human Resources and the local health authorities in this state are

 urged to continue to work with Nevadans for Antibiotic Awareness

 to take actions to prevent the abuse of antibiotics in Nevada,

 including, without limitation, working with the medical community

 and health care providers to educate the public concerning

 antibiotic resistance, its causes and the steps that can be taken to

 reduce and inhibit its spread; and be it further

    Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and

 transmit a copy of this resolution to Nevadans for Antibiotic

 Awareness, and to the Health Division of the Department of Human

 Resources for transmittal to all local health authorities in Nevada.

 

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