Malaria: Symptoms, treatment, and prevention
What Is Valley Fever? How Is The Disease Treated?
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Valley Fever Cases Spike In California, Already Way Up From Recent Years
As of the end of November, 11,076 valley fever cases had been confirmed statewide, a 20% increase compared with last year's total and a nearly 47% jump from 2022. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Valley fever cases are skyrocketing in California, with this year's tally already far exceeding the number recorded in all of 2023 and set to climb even higher once figures from the typically active month of December are reported.
As of the end of November, 11,076 valley fever cases had been confirmed statewide, a 20% increase compared to last year's total and a nearly 47% jump from 2022, according to state health data.
Valley fever is caused by inhaling spores of coccidioides, a fungal pathogen that thrives in the drier and dustier regions of the state. The fungus is released when the dry soil where it grows is disturbed.
Kern County has long been a hot spot for the disease and fungus, and this year is no different. The county accounts for 3,768, or just over one-third, of reported cases.
While several counties have seen relatively modest growth in case numbers through November compared with what was reported over the same time frame in 2022, including Los Angeles and Riverside, a few have increased by 100% to 200% — including Fresno, Kings, Merced, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Stanislaus.
Read more:Valley fever is a growing risk in Central California; few visitors ever get a warning
The largest jump occurred in Monterey County, where case counts tripled, from 100 as of Nov. 30, 2022, to 299 by the same time in 2024.
Experts say the rise in cases — and the geographic spread of the fungus — is likely the result of a combination of several factors, including a series of wet winters on top of a historic drought, a changing climate, shifting demographics and increased construction in areas once left to coyotes, desert rodents and cacti.
Most people who are infected by the fungus will not experience symptoms; their bodies will fight off the infection naturally. But in some cases, the fungal spores can cause life-altering damage or death.
The disease can be especially problematic for people who live outside the fungus' region of endemism, because the early stages often resemble the onset of COVID-19 or the flu. Physicians who are not familiar with the disease may misdiagnose these patients or fail to consider it.
That's what happened to several concertgoers in May who camped out at the Lightning in a Bottle music and art festival, held at Kern County's Buena Vista Lake. Among them was San Francisco artist Nora Bruhn, who returned home with what she assumed was a cold. But over the following weeks, her symptoms worsened and intensified.
It was only when her brother, an emergency room physician, suggested she might have valley fever that she was finally diagnosed and started on an antifungal regimen.
Read more:'Superblooms of fungus': Climate change is making valley fever worse
For others, the delay of treatment can be deadly — allowing the fungus to spread and grow in the lungs and occasionally the brain.
Outside of California, valley fever is also prevalent in Arizona and some areas of Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Texas, as well as parts of Mexico and Central and South America.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
What Is Valley Fever? How The Spore-caused Illness Makes You Sick
Valley fever cases increased in several Southern California counties in 2024, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Caused by the fungus Coccidioides, the illness is contracted by inhaling fungal spores that are commonly found in hot and dry climates. Wet weather can promote the growth of that fungus, making for an uptick in cases when the rainy season hits the Southland.
Activities like construction, walking or strong weather can disturb dirt, which could send those small fungal spores in the air and make people or animals inhale them.
Valley fever symptoms include:
About 6 in 10 people will not show symptoms and their bodies will fight off the infection. It can also be treated with anti-fungal medication.
The illness is not contagious since it's contracted by inhaling the spores. Since the symptoms are similar to respiratory disease, it's best to seek a laboratory test to determine if an illness is valley fever, influenza or COVID-19.
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