According to a study published in GeoHealth, valley fever, a fungal infection most commonly found in the Southwest, is now likely to expand east, over the Great Plains, and even north to the Canadian border as a result of climate change.
According to a recent UC Berkeley study, rates of valley fever would certainly climb as the state experiences hotter, drier conditions as the climate crisis worsens.
What Is Valley Fever?
There is also the danger that wet weather after long dry periods, as has occurred in California in recent weeks, will cause the disease to spread much further.
It is caused by inhaling spores of the soil-borne Coccidioides fungus. Farmers, construction workers, firefighters, archeologists, and Central Valley convicts are among those who are most at risk.
As the epidemic spreads outside the Southwest, here’s everything you need to know about valley fever.
Valley fever is an infection caused by inhaling minute spores of the fungus coccidioides, which is abundant in the Southwest due to the region’s hot, dry environment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 20,000 cases were reported in 2019, with Arizona and California accounting for 97% of occurrences. Rates are typically highest among those aged 60 and up.
While most individuals who breathe in the spores do not become ill, those who do usually recover on their own after a few weeks or months; nonetheless, some may require antifungal medicine.
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Signs And Symptoms
Symptoms might occur one to three weeks after inhaling the fungus spores and normally last a few weeks to a few months. About 5% to 10% of valley fever patients will develop serious or long-term pulmonary issues. Among the symptoms are:
- Fatigue
- Cough
- Fever
- Shortness of breath
- Headache
- Night sweats
- Muscle aches or joint pain
- Rash on upper body or legs
It is most often detected with a blood test; however, imaging techniques, such as chest X-rays or CT scans, may be used to check for valley fever pneumonia.
Scientists have been working on a vaccine to prevent this disease since the 1960s, according to the CDC. Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, however, have developed a two-dose vaccine that has been shown to be successful in dogs.
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