TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) – It’s a common disease carried in the dirt and dust through the Southwest.
In fact, you may catch it and never even know it.
Valley Fever, or coccidioidomycosis, is an infection of the lungs caused by a fungus that grows in the soil in Arizona, the southern and central portions of California and portions of Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah.
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, 6,414 cases of Valley Fever were reported in the state as of August 27, 2019.
In 2018, the number of cases reported through August was 5,260. The total for the year, according to AZDHS, was 7,478.
“This year we have higher number of cases reported already to the Department of Health, almost maybe a 30 percent increase,” said Dr. Fariba Donovan, an assistant professor in the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine.
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