06-R 033

2006 -- H 6823

Enacted 01/17/06

H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING THE YEAR OF 2006 AS "THE YEAR OF POLIO EDUCATION" AND THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER AS "POLIO EDUCATION MONTH"

Introduced By: Representatives Jacquard, and San Bento

Date Introduced: January 17, 2006

     WHEREAS, The 50th anniversary of the injectable killed polio vaccine was celebrated in

2005; and

     WHEREAS, The polio vaccines eliminated naturally occurring polio cases in the United

States but have not yet eliminated polio in other parts of the world; and

     WHEREAS, In October 2005, five cases of polio were reported in Minnesota, the result

of the poliovirus being imported into North America from abroad; and

     WHEREAS, As few as 57% of American children receive all the doses of necessary

vaccines during childhood, including the polio vaccine; and

     WHEREAS, The success of the polio vaccines has caused people to forget the 163,000

Americans, 6,000 in Rhode Island alone, who were born before the development of the vaccines,

and who were stricken with polio during the epidemic in the middle of the 20th century; and

     WHEREAS, More than half of paralytic and non-paralytic polio survivors develop Post-

Polio Sequelae, the unexpected and often disabling symptoms that occur decades after the

poliovirus attack including: overwhelming fatigue, muscle and joint pain, sleep disorders,

heightened sensitivity to anesthesia, cold pain, and difficulty swallowing and breathing; and

     WHEREAS, Research and clinical work at The Post-Polio Institute have discovered that

Post-Polio Sequelae can be treated if polio survivors are taught to conserve energy and use

assistive devices to stop damaging and killing the reduced number of overworked, poliovirus-

damaged neurons in the spinal cord and brain; and

     WHEREAS, Many medical professionals and polio survivors do not know of the

existence of Post-Polio Sequelae or of the available treatments; and

     WHEREAS, The mission of the International Center for Post-Polio Education and

Research at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center includes educating medical professionals

and the world's 20,000,000 polio survivors about Polio and Post-Polio Sequelae; now, therefore

be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby proclaims the year of 2006 as "The Year of Polio Education" in

Rhode Island to promote polio vaccination and Post-Polio Sequelae education and treatment, and

the month of November as "Polio Education Month"; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to The Post-Polio Institute.

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LC00677

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