The Florida ALS Surveillance Project
Public health surveillance is needed to provide more information regarding the incidence (the number of new cases per year), prevalence (the number of
existing cases), and etiology (cause) of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
On October 10, 2008, President Bush signed a bill to establish a national registry for ALS which became Public Law No: 110-373. An agency within the Department of Health and
Human Services, the Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), has been given responsibility to develop this registry.
Currently, the Florida Department of Health is conducting ALS surveillance to obtain reliable and timely information on the incidence and prevalence of the
disease, to better describe the demographic characteristics of persons affected by ALS, and to assist ATSDR in evaluating the completeness of the
National ALS
Registry.
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