U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) promised constituents he would continue his efforts this year to combat Valley Fever, an infectious disease caused by inhaling certain fungal spores that still has no cure or vaccine.
In his home state, the California Department of Public Health reported more than a 10 percent increase as of Nov. 30, 2019 in statewide cases compared to the first 11 months of 2018.
“Treatments remain limited,” Rep. McCarthy said in a Dec. 20 statement. “This is clearly a significant public health concern.”
The congressman said that increasing awareness and funding “through legislation, grants and leveraging existing government programs to incentivize drug development is key.”
In highlighting his related legislative progress in 2019, Rep. McCarthy said he helped secure a $2 million funding increase in the federal government’s 2020 budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand Valley Fever surveillance, research and awareness efforts.
“Additionally, I also secured a provision in the Fiscal Year 2020 defense appropriations bill that encourages the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to research Valley Fever’s effect on service members stationed in our community and limit its impact on military readiness,” said Rep. McCarthy, co-chair of the Congressional Valley Fever Task Force.
In May 2019, Rep. McCarthy also introduced the bicameral, bipartisan Finding Orphan-disease Remedies with Antifungal Research and Development (FORWARD) Act of 2019, H.R. 2858, to address the challenges associated with detecting, treating and eventually eradicating Valley Fever. Rep. McCarthy sponsored H.R. 2858 with 12 bill cosponsors including U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA).
The identical S. 1567 was introduced in May 2019 by U.S. Sens. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and both bills remain under committee consideration in each chamber of Congress.
Among numerous other efforts, Rep. McCarthy also noted that a letter he wrote to the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, urging Valley Fever be included in the Food and Drug Administration’s Tropical Disease Priority Review Voucher Program to help incentivize additional investments into drug and vaccine development, successfully resulted in the FDA starting the review process.
“Addressing Valley Fever will require a multifaceted approach involving state, local, federal, and agency collaboration,” Rep. McCarthy said. “Though progress has been made to eradicate this disease, there’s more work to be done. I will continue fighting for our community so that this disease can finally be eliminated.”