Valley Fever: Rare fungal Infection
A 37-year-old Indian tech professional based in California recently died after battling Valley fever, a rare fungal infection that damaged his lungs and led to respiratory failure.
- Valley fever, also known as acute coccidioidomycosis, is a fungal infection that primarily affects the lungs.
- It is caused by the Coccidioides fungus, which grows in dry and dusty soil in parts of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and regions of Central and South America.
- The fungi’s spores can be stirred into the air by anything that disrupts the soil, such as farming, construction, and wind.
- People can then breathe the fungi into their lungs.
- Pets can also become infected.
- It does not spread from person to person or between people and animals.
- Treatment:
- Mild cases of valley fever usually resolve on their own.
- In more-severe cases, doctors treat the infection with antifungal medications.
- Sometimes surgery is needed to remove the infected part of the lung (for chronic or severe disease).
- There is no vaccine to prevent valley fever.
