October 9, 2019: PANDAS/PANS Awareness Day

WHEREAS, PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) and PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndromes) are neuropsychiatric conditions that are associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), tics, anxiety, depression, behavioral regression, deterioration in school performance, sensory sensitivities, severely restricted food intake, and more; and,  

WHEREAS, a diagnosis of PANDAS or PANS means a child has a sudden, dramatic change in personality with accompanying symptoms following a strep, bacterial, or viral infection; and,

WHEREAS, PANDAS Network estimates that PANDAS and PANS affects as many as 1 in 200 children. PANDAS/PANS is likely as common as Pediatric Cancer and Pediatric Diabetes and can seriously affect the healthy outcome of a child’s life; and,

WHEREAS, these syndromes involve an autoimmune response caused by a pathogen’s ability to mimic the host human’s own receptors, causing the immune system to attack its own tissues in the brain; and,

WHEREAS, PANDAS/PANS is often misdiagnosed and undertreated. Untreated PANDAS/PANS can cause permanent debilitation; and,

WHEREAS, it is imperative that there be greater public awareness of this health issue so that affected children can be identified and treated early;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, do hereby proclaim October 9, 2019, as PANDAS/PANS Awareness Day in Michigan.