Valley Fever Epidemic Hits Record Levels In Phoenix - 5,493 Diagnosed In 2006, More Likely Infected

[hatrack]

Valley fever is at epidemic levels in Arizona, afflicting 56 percent more people last year than in 2005. A record 5,493 Arizonans were diagnosed with the disease, but as in years past, health officials say thousands of other cases went unreported.

Health officials are unsure what caused the increase but point to weather changes as a possible culprit. The wet winter of 2005, followed by many dry months in 2006, was a probable one-two punch that has wreaked havoc on the lungs and joints of many residents.

Valley fever is an infection in the lungs caused by a fungus, Coccidioides immitis, found in soils primarily in Southwestern states. The fungus flourishes in rain and then is stirred into the air in dry conditions. About 60 percent of the people who inhale the microns-size spore and contract the disease have mild symptoms.

Those with severe cases see their lives altered. They suffer extreme pain in joints and difficulty in breathing, and sometimes, the infection migrates to the brain. Twenty-eight Arizonans died of valley fever in 2005; the count of deaths in 2006 was unavailable Wednesday. "It strikes me very much as an epidemic of valley fever," said Shoana Anderson, program manager for the infectious-diseases division of the Arizona Department of Health Services.

EDIT

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0111valleyfever0111.html

[Radio_Lady]

1. God, what the hell is causing this? I need to read the article.

[hatrack]

4. Fungal infection endemic to the area

And, as I understand it, to most of the Sonoran Desert.

[cdnwannabe]

2. And will this situation worsen with climate change....

regardless, not good.

[phantom power]

3. Ongoing construction can also stir up the fungus from soils.

Continual bulldozing, grading, etc, of the desert for new subdivisions out here is often blamed for increasing valley fever cases.

[kestrel91316]

5. After the Northridge Earthquake (1994) we had a mini-epidemic

of Valley Fever here in So Cal - over in Simi Valley. They hypothesized that rockfalls and landslides in the hills around there diring the quake stirred up huge amounts of Coccidioides spore-laden dust. There were a bunch of cases in dogs AND people, IIRC.