What is Valley Fever

Valley fever is caused by a fungus called Coccidioides immitis, usually found in the soil of southwestern United States, northern Mexico and in parts of Central and South America. This disease is also known as Coccidioidomycosis, San Joaquin Valley fever, California valley fever or desert fever. Inhalation of soil particles containing the spores of Coccidioides immitis cause valley fever. These air borne spores spread to the atmosphere when the soil is disturbed. This can happen during natural calamities like earthquakes, during construction work or farming. Hence, construction workers and farmers are more prone to this disease, which is not contagious. Usually it affects the lungs, but can spread to other parts of the body.

Symptoms

Valley fever can be classified into three forms as per the symptoms. They are acute, chronic and disseminated.

• Acute valley fever is characterized with mild or no symptoms. Flu-like symptoms appear after two to three weeks of exposure and includes fever, headache, chills, weakness, chest pain, rashes, joint pain, etc. If the infected person does not develop any symptom, the disease can be diagnosed only through a skin or blood test. A routine X-ray can help detect some nodule in the lungs. If the infected person develops severe symptoms, at least six months of treatment is needed for recovery.
• Chronic valley fever is like chronic pneumonia and occurs many years (almost 20 years) after the initial infection. It usually occurs in diabetic people and those with weak immune system. The symptoms include fever, cough, sputum with tinges of blood, cough and nodules in the lung. Those who fail to recover from acute valley fever may also develop the chronic variant.
• Disseminated valley fever is the spread of infection from lungs to other parts of the body like skin, bones, liver, brain, heart and spinal cord. It produces symptoms like skin lesions, nodules, swollen joints, painful lesions in skull, bones and spine and meningitis.

Risk Factors

The first and foremost among the risk factors is the exposure to dust and soil of the areas, where valley fever is common. People living in that area, traveling through it, agricultural workers, ranchers, archeologists, and military personnel on field exercises, workers at construction sites, road, etc., are prone to this disease. Pregnant women, aged persons, HIV patients, diabetics, chain smokers and those with weak immune system are more susceptible than others. The Filipinos, Hispanics, people of African descent and Asians are more likely to be infected than Caucasians. It is also found that other than humans, dogs, cattle, livestock, apes, monkeys, kangaroos, some wild animals and marine mammals also get infected by Coccidioides immitis.

Treatment

Acute chronic fever does not require any treatment. It is like common flu and needs some rest and lots of fluids. If the symptoms do not subside or become more severe, anti fungal medications are used. If the condition of the patient is serious, then intra venal anti fungal medications are used. At present, there is no vaccination available to cure valley fever.

Some effective measures can be taken to prevent the infection of valley fever. You can wear a mask and protect yourself from inhaling dust. Stay indoor and close the doors, windows and ventilators during stormy weather, wet the soil before digging, etc. are some of the precautions. The last and most important thing is to consult a doctor as soon as the symptoms appear.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice. Visiting your physician is the safest way to diagnose and treat any health condition.