United States: As reported by HealthDay, Coccidioides triggers a disease which is called Valley fever, and which is basically rising sharply in numbers in the Western United States. The illness can include flu-like symptoms that in some of the cases can even prove that thing fatal.
Reporting in the October issue which of The Lancet Regional Health- Americas a team which is led by Alexandra Heaney of the University of the California, San Diego which tracked all the California cases of the valley fever from the year 2000 to 2021.
New Study Highlights Recent Trends
The team identified some peculiarities of the cases which were not initially expected by the team.
However, the authors pointed out that the number of cases increased dramatically in the last years, went up from 2014–2018 and from 2018–2022.
Drought and Seasonal Variations
As reported by HealthDay, Nevertheless, ‘most seasonal infectious diseases have a yearly spike but looking at the data, we were surprised that some years had few or no counties experiencing a seasonal blip in cases,’ Heaney, an assistant professor of medicine at UCSD.
‘This made us ponder what these seasonal variations were relating to years and given the timing we noted we suggested that drought might be entering the scene,” said Dr. Mena for a UCSD news release.
Regional Insights and Health Implications
It is however important to note that some of the above-mentioned regions that recorded high Valley Fever cases particularly during the period between September and November might have changed either per certain counties or per different years.
Finally, the team said that the counties in the San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast regions had the highest seasonal peaks, although these appeared to occur earlier in the San Joaquin Valley. “By understanding when the season begins and how severe it may be, health care practitioners can then know when they should be anticipating new cases closely.”
The study’s corresponding author is Justin Remais, a professor who is in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. “it remains the only research that identifies when disease risk is most pronounced across all the endemic California counties together with emerging counties.
Severe Health Risks
Since the spores are initially inhaled, Valley Fever starts in the lungs which is a very dangerous area of the body. Then the bacteria can extend to other areas of the body for example the skin, the bones and even the brain. Infection that gets to the head, the disease becomes fatal.