I've been camping in the desert for years and never even heard of Valley Fever. Good awareness info if you live in or visit the southwest.




http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec13/pledge_08-09.html#disqus_thread

It's actually probably under-reported. "Valley Fever" tends to be a severe version; I'm sure there are many more people with exposure that get a low-level (if any) illness off it.

The fungal spores that spread Valley Fever have always been around but there's been a marked increase of cases in the the past ten years in the West and Southwest.

Recently, a California judge has ordered that a couple thousand inmates in two California prisons be relocated due to the higher risk that the inmates have demonstrated compared to the surrounding population.

No one is really sure why Valley Fever is becoming more common. Could be related to shifts in climate. The whole region is definitely getting hotter and drier. Maybe that allows more spores to go airborne on the wind.

http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/coccidioidomycosis/

Disease called Coccidiodomycosis. Bug is Coccidioides immitis.

Thanks for the comprehensive reference. As an archaeologist who has worked, and dug, in New Mexico, Arizona, and California for more than fifty years, I have probably contracted a mild case somewhere in the past.

A good friend contracted the disease simply by driving along dusty country roads in Arizona. He survived after a long hospital stay, but died prematurely some years later.

The part that is new to me is the additional species causing the illness, C. posadasii, and the location where each is typically found.

Cities of Gold by Douglas Preston, is a good read in which valley fever is featured.

Probably more info than anyone wanted (and for non-medical types)

http://www.uptodate.com/contents/valley-fever-coccidioidomycosis-the-basics?detectedLanguage=en&source=search_result&search=valley+fever&selectedTitle=2%7E8&provider=noProvider

Another serious, airborne fungal disease to be aware of is cryptococcosis gattii now considered endemic to the Pacific Northwest. It was formerly tropical/subtropical, but is now causing problems in British Columbia (including Vancouver Island), Washington, and Oregon.

Travellers to these areas should be aware of this, since physicians in other places may not be familiar with the symptoms and appropriate treatment. Also, the delay in developing symptoms can be 2-14 months (!) so it can be hard to connect the visit with the onset of infection.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2010/07/23/cryptococcus-fungus-infections-cdc.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126198896

http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/cryptococcosis-gattii/definition.html