California’s wet winter will cause more cases of a unique fungal infection known as valley fever, so state health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout.
Valley fever is caused by inhaling a fungus found in the soil and air in the southwestern U.S., including parts of Los Angeles County. Rainfall after years of drought causes the fungus to release spores. When dust is kicked up by wind or human activities, such as agricultural practices or construction, people and animals inhale the spores.
“Valley fever is a much more common illness than most people realize in the southwest,” said pediatrician Nichole Webb. She works in Fresno and said cases there have exploded recently, including among children.
Often patients get flu-like symptoms lasting a month. One in 20 gets pneumonia, and in one in 100 cases it infects the brain.
“Unexplained fever, cough, sometimes they can have night sweats and difficulty breathing, those are going to be the most common symptoms,” she said.
Although two-thirds of those infected don’t have symptoms, and the illness is not contagious, about 200 people a year die when the fungus spreads beyond the lungs to other parts of the body, including the brain and bones.
Antifungal drugs can help, but there is no cure. A record 9,280 cases of valley fever were reported in California last year after storms pelted the arid state with rainfall. Los Angeles County reported 1,400 of those cases.
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