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The most revealing aspect I learned about Valley Fever is that it's caused by a fungus. I did not know fungi could be so harmful to the body and cause so many different symptoms. The most surprising fact I learned was that Arizona, despite having high incidences of Valley Fever, has no specific laws to protect their residents and workers. California has a good system of informing their workers about Valley Fever if they are in an area of high susceptibility, but Arizona does not do this. Additionally, I learned the land Arizona uses for the country music festival in Florence, Country Thunder, has a high level of Valley Fever spores. I have attended this festival for the past three years and was unaware of this fact. Lastly, I feel that I wrote a lot of information about Valley Fever, but never focused mainly on the actual symptoms as part of the Padlet assignment.

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In California, the most impoverished counties also have the highest rates of Valley Fever — usually those with low-wage agricultural and construction workers.

Since 2010, California has increased monitoring and surveillance of Valley Fever outbreaks.

Health Impact Assessment (HIA): community based assessment of social and environmental factors contributing to health disparities

can help mitigate the occurrence and implications of Valley Fever

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California implemented a law, AB 203, requiring construction employers who work in areas with high rates of Valley Fever to train their staff annually on how they can minimize the risk of infection.

The CDC is involved in raising awareness, monitoring trends, advancing detection technology, and researching new methods of testing and treating Valley Fever.

Even though Arizona tends to have the highest number of Valley Fever cases per year in the US, there are no specific laws on prevention or education plans like there are in California. The leadership in Arizona needs to change this in order to reduce the incidence of Valley Fever.

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1957: first effective use of amphotericin B to treat Valley Fever

Soon after, azole antifungal agents, much less toxic than previous treatment, were used as therapy for Valley Fever.

Two new tests were developed: 1) spherule-derived skin test and 2) coccidioidal antigen test

Antifungal drugs used today for Valley Fever: fluconazole (Diflucan) and itraconazole (Sporanox, Tolsura)

Survival of Coccidioides infection tends to provide life-long protection from subsequent exogenous (pathogen entering host from environment) infection. This led to the testing of Coccidioides as a potential target for the development of vaccines, which have not been successful yet but are still under exploration.

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Definition: the ability of a pathogen or microorganism to cause damage to a host, or the severity of a disease or poison; commonly seen in animal systems, it is the degree of damage that a microbe causes to its host

Fungal virulence factors include temperature tolerance, enzymatic activity, and evasion of host defenses.

The main virulence factor of Coccidioides, the fungi that causes Valley Fever, is urease. This is released by spherules into the host and hydrolyzes the pathogen and host urea to create ammonia and increase the pH which ultimately has toxic effects on human cells.

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1892: The first reported case of Valley Fever occurred in Argentina.
1894: The second reported case of Valley Fever occurred in a San Francisco hospital and was unrelated to the original case.
1901: The first actual recognized and recorded case of Valley Fever occurred in Kern County, CA.

The incidence of Valley Fever gradually increased until 2010, then dropped and began increasing again in 2015. The mortality rate is only 0.07%.

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In 1892, an Argentine soldier was described as having long-lasting dermatologic problems including lesions, itchy spots, and fungal-like masses that became ulcerated and discharged puss.

Medical professionals believed his condition was mycosis fungoides, which is a type of skin cancer.

A medical student was able to transmit the infection to several, nonhuman mammals, but only through inoculation. Therefore, Valley Fever was considered a noncontagious disease.

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caused by a fungi called Coccidioides
Family: Onygenaceae
Genus: Coccidioides
Two specific species:
1. C. immitis: found in California
2. C. posadasii: found in other US states and other parts of the world