Proclamation 5697 --
National Reye's Syndrome Week, 1987
By
the President of the
A
Proclamation
Reye's
Syndrome is a deadly disease that can strike a child
or teenager during recovery from a relatively innocuous viral illness -- from
the flu, for example, or from chicken pox. Suddenly, instead of continuing to
gain strength and health, the child becomes lethargic or disoriented, unusually
excitable, hyperactive, irritable, or even combative. A frequent symptom is
uncontrollable vomiting, and violent headaches and delirium may occur.
Tragically, 30 percent of the victims of Reye's Syndrome
die; another 15 to 25 percent are left with brain damage.
Any
child can develop Reye's Syndrome, but research
strongly indicates that children given aspirin as treatment for the flu or
chicken pox may be particularly vulnerable. To protect their children, parents
must learn to ``think Reye's'': do not use aspirin to treat children with
chicken pox or influenza-like illness; do recognize the early symptoms of
Reye's Syndrome; and do seek medical attention for a child immediately at the
first sign of those symptoms.
Over
the past several years, the United States Department of Health and Human
Services, the National Reye's Syndrome Foundation, the American Reye's Syndrome
Foundation, and other professional and voluntary health agencies have alerted
American families to the dangers of Reye's Syndrome.
They have stressed the need to avoid the use of aspirin to treat flu-like
illness and chicken pox. The result has been a marked decline in the annual
incidence of the disorder. According to a report published last year, the
average annual incidence of Reye's Syndrome from 1981
to 1984 was lower than that of the previous five years, with the decrease
identified among children younger than 10 years of age. The incidence in 1985
was much lower than during any previous year since surveillance of Reye's Syndrome was initiated in the 1970's.
All
Americans welcome such encouraging news. We look for further advances to come
from the scientific studies of Reye's Syndrome being
supported by the Federal government's National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development,
and Centers for Disease Control.
To
enhance public awareness of Reye's Syndrome, the Congress, by House Joint
Resolution 335, has designated the week of September 13 through September 19,
1987, as ``National Reye's Syndrome Week'' and authorized and requested the
President to issue a proclamation in observance of that week.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of September, in
the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,