Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 519 amends the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Act to require a person permitted by law to attend a pregnant woman during gestation or at delivery of an infant to take or cause to be taken a sample of a mother's blood on admission for delivery, to be submitted to a laboratory for a standard serologic test, approved by the Texas Board of Medical Examiners, for hepatitis B infection. If test results reveal the woman to be infected with hepatitis B or syphilis, the person who submitted the sample for the test must provide the woman with disease-specific information on the disease diagnosed, including counseling for HIV infection or AIDS, and may refer the woman to an entity that provides treatment for the disease diagnosed. Before the sample is taken, the health care provider must distribute printed materials, provided by the Texas Department of Health, designed to educate the patient about hepatitis B.