Also known as coccidioidomycosis, Valley fever can be found in the soil of the Pacific Northwest and the Southwestern U.S.
Dozens of people have reported contracting valley fever, a fungal lung infection, after attending a music festival in California, and at least eight have been hospitalized. Health officials say the risk of the disease, which spreads through pathogens in soil and dirt, will continue into the fall.
Also known as coccidioidomycosis, valley fever, caused by CoccidioidesThe Valley Fever fungus is found in the soil of the Pacific Northwest, the American Southwest, and parts of Latin America. Each year, authorities report about 10,000 cases of Valley Fever in the United States, most of which are in Arizona and 30 percent in California.
How has Valley fever spread due to climate change?
In recent years, experts believe that cases of valley fever have increased in the southwestern United States, especially due to climate change and increased droughts. According to doctors, coccidioides They survive in warm, dry conditions, and people become infected after inhaling spores of the fungus.
Doctors say many people who suffer from valley fever don’t even know they have the infection, as most don’t have any symptoms. “The numbers that have been discovered around this particular music festival are almost certainly an underestimate of all the ones out there, because it’s very likely that many people had an illness that was indistinguishable from the flu or some other respiratory infection, and they just didn’t get tested and eventually got over it on their own,” Dr. John Galgiani, director of the Valley Fever Center of Excellence at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, told Verywell Health.
Signs and symptoms of valley fever
Experts say it typically takes one to three weeks for people to develop valley fever symptoms after inhaling the Coccidioides sporesSome of the most common ones include:
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Cough
- Headache
- Shortness of breath
- Night sweats
- Muscle pain
- Rashes on the legs and upper body.
Although it is not contagious, many people recover without needing any treatment. However, those who do have symptoms feel unwell for weeks or months. However, up to 10 percent of valley fever infections can cause long-term lung problems, and in about 1 percent of cases, doctors say the infection spreads to the bones, skin or central nervous system, causing meningitis.
Health care providers primarily use blood or skin tests to determine if someone has Valley fever.
Who is at higher risk for Valley Fever?
According to doctors, anyone who breathes in the fungus can become infected, but this fever is most common in adults over 60 years of age. Other people who can get it include:
- A weakened immune system, which can be caused by certain medications or diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
- Pregnant women
- People with type 2 diabetes
- Working in jobs that expose you to floor dust.
- You have traveled or moved to an area where the fungus thrives.
What are the complications caused by Valley fever?
Doctors say only 1 percent of people who have symptoms may develop serious illness. Serious complications include:
- Pneumonia
- Fluid or pus in the lungs
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome
- Rupture of fluid or air sacs in the lungs
- Disease that spreads outside the lungs
- One of the most serious complications of Valley fever is when the fungus spreads outside the lungs: to the skin, bones, joints, liver, pancreas, kidneys and brain.
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