Ariz. Valley Fever Cases Soared in 2006
Posted on: Thursday, 11 January 2007, 18:00 CST
PHOENIX - Cases of the fungal infection known as valley fever soared by 56 percent in 2006, with a record 5,493 cases diagnosed in Arizona, state health officials said.
The rapid increase in cases prompted health officials to label the disease at epidemic proportions, and they noted that thousands of other cases likely went unreported.
The number of deaths in 2006 weren't immediately available, but 28 state residents died of valley fever in 2005.
"It strikes me very much as an epidemic of valley fever," said Shoana Anderson, program manager for the infectious-diseases division of the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Valley fever, or coccidioidomycosis, is a relatively obscure disease caused by inhaling the spores of a fungus found in the U.S. Southwest, northwestern Mexico and California's Central Valley. An estimated 130,000 people are exposed each year, but fewer than half develop symptoms that lead to diagnosis and only about 10 percent require treatment.
A wet winter in 2005, followed by dry months in 2006, led to an explosion of spores that likely led to the rise in cases in Arizona, said Will Humble, deputy assistant director for the health department. Winds pick up the spores, which are inhaled by people who become infected.
"As the winter soil starts to dry out, the organism says, 'Oh, oh, I ought to go into a vegetative state,' Humble said. "So it spends its remaining energy forming spores.
"They were just sitting there waiting for the wind."
About 60 percent of the people who inhale the spores and contract the disease have mild symptoms.
Those with the most severe symptoms suffer extreme pain in joints and difficulty breathing, and the infection can migrate to the brain.
Treatment is with an anti-fungal medication. Researchers are working on new medications and a vaccine.
The disease is often misdiagnosed by physicians, who frequently initially believe the patient has pneumonia. The patients know they are sick, but the medicine they are given does not work.
Once a correct diagnosis is made, "it's very empowering for the patient; they finally know what's going on," said Dr. John Galgiani, director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the University of Arizona and Southern Arizona VA Health Care System in Tucson.
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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
Source: Associated Press/AP Online
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