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Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Governor Malloy: Please pass HB 5525: AN ACT CONCERNING CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV).

The Connecticut House and Senate just passed HB 5525: AN ACT CONCERNING CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV).

If Governor Malloy signs this into law, this will help many babies suffer fewer disabilities in Connecticut.

 
I have written and called Governor Malloy's office asking him to sign the bill into law. If you have an interest/time to contact Governor Malloy on this issue,  here is contact: 860-566-4840;        1-800-406-1527;
Online Contact Forms: Share your Opinion   

The benefit of passing Connecticut's HB 5525, according to Dr. Brenda Kinsella Balch, a Connecticut pediatrician and the Connecticut Chapter Champion for the American Academy of Pediatrics Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program,  is that: “Testing for CMV is not very expensive and is covered by insurance because CMV is known to cause hearing loss and therefore to test for it is reasonable.” She adds: “If we begin testing infants who fail their newborn hearing screen, not only will it increase awareness and hopefully prevention of CMV transmission, but we will be able to identify early those infants with congenital CMV and therefore have the opportunity to intervene earlier to optimize their outcomes.”
The June issue of Connecticut Magazine  has an article about  cytomegalovirus, the bill and why moms like me are fighting for it to pass (I believe it is a version of this blog post about why I'm fighting for this bill: http://www.connecticutmag.com/Blog/Health-Wellness/February-2015/Mystic-Mom-Raises-Awareness-of-Stealth-Virus-That-Can-Catch-Pregnant-Women-Unawares/#comments).
 
In addition, the following article is about another Connecticut mother:
 

WHAT OTHER STATES ARE DOING:

Hawaii
House Bill 782 - "RELATING TO THE CYTOMEGALOVIRUS"

Bill Status
Illinois
House Bill 0184

Bill Status

Tennessee
House Bill 0539

Bill Status

Texas
Senate Bill 791 - "Relating to testing for and education about congenital cytomegalovirus in infants."

Bill Status

Connecticut: House Bill 5525 - "AN ACT CONCERNING CYTOMEGALOVIRUS"

Bill Status
 
Utah passed a CMV bill in 2013.

Thank you to all who have worked to get the bill this far.

Sincerely,

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