Over the past two decades, the incidence and range of valley fever have grown dramatically, posing an increasing threat to residents and visitors in Central California. This article explores the alarming rise of this fungal disease, the factors contributing to its spread, and the challenges in raising awareness and combating its growing resistance to treatments. As the climate and demographics change, experts warn that severe cases of valley fever may become more common, underscoring the urgent need for education, preventive measures, and collaborative efforts to address this public health concern. Valley fever is a serious illness caused by the Coccidioides fungus, which thrives in the soil of certain regions.
Valley Fever Cases Up Nearly 50% In California Last Year, Risk Highest In Central Coast
California has shouldered a particularly heavy burden, experiencing more than 9,000 cases of valley fever last year since rising by more than 600 percent in 2000 compared to fewer than 1,500 in the state was reported in 2001. The unprecedented rise in fires is due in no small part to climate change, changing demographics and more development in areas that were once wilderness.
Now, the fungus that causes valley fever-coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides spp.)-appears to be growing more drug-resistant. This is believed by most experts to be the result of largescale application of agricultural fungicides to crops, thus exposing the fungus to these chemicals and an opportunity to evolve resistance. The emergence of resistance is especially troubling because it paves the way for even more serious cases and longer hospital stays paid for by health insurers scared of getting hit with an expensive bill when a patient comes down with valley fever.
Undiagnosed Diseases and Anecdotes of a Quilt
A significant problem with valley fever is simply that it can be hard to identify the disease—you might attribute the symptoms of valley fever to extreme flu or COVID-19. That can be problematic, leading to missed, late or inaccurate diagnoses — such as the one from Carrigan in Kern County, California, which misdiagnosed several times before a disseminated valley fever diagnosis.
Local health authorities are responding to the situation, including raising awareness about the disease and its symptoms among outdoor workers or people living in areas at high risk. But that message does not always extend beyond the area in which there is an outbreak — or reach everyone it needs to. Since valley fever is spreading beyond its traditional geographic boundaries, the need for more education and outreach becomes acute.
Valley Fever — A Team Sport
Wider Control Collaboration Needed, Experts Say Valley Fever Cases Rise This requires more active oversight by local, state and federal agencies, in coordination with the research community and medical providers to better understand the potential environmental impacts from agricultural fungicides on human health.
And there are ongoing efforts to create a vaccine for valley fever, which would be a major advance in terms of keeping people from getting sick. But a medical startup from Long Beach has been enlisted to retool a dog vaccine for human clinical trials in high-risk populations like construction workers, farmworkers and outdoor enthusiasts.
And now that a vaccine could be on its way, public health officials and experts say education is still the best tool to eradicate valley fever. They are calling for more public health messaging and education around the disease to empower communities to know what valley fever is, how it presents, and what they can do about it.
