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| Elizabeth Saunders (1889-2006), born with congenital cytomegalovirus, with her big sister. Photo by her mother, Lisa Saunders |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: April 1, 2014Lisa Saunders
P.O. Box 389, Mystic, CT 06355
LisaSaunders42@gmail.com
Mom Asks CT to Become 2nd State in Nation to Stop #1
Birth Defects Virus
Mystic, Conn.— Lisa Saunders of
Mystic didn’t know how to prevent contracting CMV (cytomegalovirus), which
causes more disabilities than Down syndrome, until it was too late for her
daughter Elizabeth born with a severely damaged brain.
On March 25, Connecticut’s Public
Health Committee voted in favor of House
Bill 5147, which includes a cytomegalovirus
(CMV) public education program. At present, Utah is the only
state that requires their Public Health Department to provide CMV
education.
Saunders, the parent representative
of the Congenital CMV
Foundation, is now asking legislators to make
Connecticut the second state in the Union to prevent the leading viral cause of
birth defects by passing HB
5147. Congenital CMV can be prevented if women of childbearing
age learn the precautions to take, which includes refraining from kissing their
toddlers around the mouth.
According to a study posted on the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, “fewer than half
(44%) of OB/GYNs surveyed reported counseling their patients about preventing
CMV infection” despite the following statistics
from the CDC:
·
About 1 in 150 children is born with congenital CMV infection (approximately
30,000 in the U.S. each year).
·
Congenital CMV causes one child to become disabled every hour.
Saunders has been trying to raise
CMV awareness for years through her speaking engagements and books,
including Anything But a Dog!
The perfect pet for a girl with congenital CMV (cytomegalovirus), and
most recently her travel memoir, Mystic
Seafarer’s Trail, where she jokes she's trying
to get thin and famous like Amelia Earhart (secretly married in Noank), so
people will listen to her CMV prevention message.
For more information, visit Saunders at: www.authorlisasaunders.com.
For more information, visit Saunders at: www.authorlisasaunders.com.
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