Valley fever on the rise

Cases of valley fever — a respiratory fungal infection that causes flu-like symptoms and can linger for years or even decades after a person’s exposed — have been climbing steadily in California and other parts of the southwestern United States over the past decade, according to a CDC report released last week.

That might not seem like much of an issue for Bay Area residents, since the fungus that causes it — called Coccidioides — isn’t really found around here. But it’s widespread in the soil of the Central Valley and other parts of California, and even driving down the dusty I-5 on the way to Los Angeles can cause an infection, says Dr. David Stevens, a Stanford professor and chief of infectious disease at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, who has studied valley fever for more than a decade.

PMost people recover from valley fever without any treatment at all, but some can suffer serious, even deadly effects.

Symptoms of valley fever include fever, coughing, chest pains and fatigue. For more information about why reports of the illness have been climbing, read our story here.

News Source: blog.sfgate.com