Valley Fever Awareness Week 2009 is coming in November! Check out this great website promoting the Valley   Fever Alliance Walk in Phoenix on Sunday November 1, 2009 to raise money and awareness for Valley Fever!

Watch Dr. John Galgiani on Horizons Thursday, October 29 on KAET-TV.

- Valley Fever coverage on ABC TV.

- On October 13th, Pat McMahon interviewed Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine and Marv Freeman. To view this interview, click AZTV.com.

- Phoenix event aims at curing Valley Fever!

- Federal Study Reveals Cause for Higher Rate of Valley Fever.

- After 46 years in the nursing field, the instinct to make a difference lives on in retired Arizona nurse.

- Profile on professional athletes coping with the effects of Valley Fever.

- Retired nurse, 81, raising awareness about Valley Fever.

- See the June 8, 2009 editorial in the Arizona Republic about the "mystery disease" affecting a Major League Baseball player.

Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) is primarily a disease of the lungs that is common in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It is caused by the fungus Coccidioides sp., which grows in soils in areas of low rainfall, high summer temperatures, and moderate winter temperatures. These fungal spores become airborne when the soil is disturbed by winds, construction, farming and other activities.

Valley Fever infections are more likely to occur during certain seasons. In Arizona, the highest prevalence of infections occurs June through July and from October through November. In California, the risk of infection is highest from June through November, without the late summer break.

It is estimated that there are about 150,000 infections in the southwestern U.S. each year. Approximately one-third of these results in a self-limited, although often protracted, respiratory illness. However, in a small percentage the illness is more serious and potentially lethal.

Click image for larger map

In susceptible people and animals, infection occurs when a spore is inhaled. Within the lung, the spore changes into a larger, multicellular structure called a spherule. The spherule grows and bursts, releasing endospores which develop into spherules. Valley Fever symptoms generally occur within three weeks of exposure. Valley Fever is not a" contagious" disease, meaning it is not passed from person to person. Second infections are rare.

Many domestic and native animals are susceptible to the disease, including dogs, horses, cattle, sheep, burros, coyotes, rodents, bats and snakes.

 

Valley Fever Center for Excellence, 1656 E. Mabel St. P.O. Box 245215, Tucson, Arizona 85724
HOTLINE (520) 626-6517, FAX (520) 626-4971
EMAIL vfever@email.arizona.edu
2009 All contents Copyrighted ©. The University of Arizona, all rights reserved.