Is Climate Change Fueling a Deadly Disease in California and Other Parched States?

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/environment/climate-change-fueling-deadly-disease-california-and-other-parched-states



If you haven’t heard of valley fever, you’re not alone. Although cases in states like California are rising, public awareness is low and misdiagnoses from doctors are sadly high. The AP reported an 850 percent spike in cases across the country from 1998 to 2011, with California and Arizona being the worst states.

“The fever has hit California’s agricultural heartland particularly hard in recent years, with incidence dramatically increasing in 2010 and 2011,” wrote the AP’s Gosia Wozniacka. “The disease — which is prevalent in arid regions of the United States, Mexico, Central and South America — can be contracted by simply breathing in fungus-laced spores from dust disturbed by wind as well as human or animal activity.”

Why have things gotten so bad? “The fungus is sensitive to environmental changes, experts say, and a hotter, drier climate has increased dust carrying the spores,” wrote Wozniacka.

Valley fever can have a host of symptoms and is painful, debilitating and sometimes deadly. It sometimes starts with flu-like symptoms but “the infection can spread from the lungs to the brain, bones, skin, even eyes, leading to blindness, skin abscesses, lung failure, even death,” reported Wozniacka.

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Fascinating....

never heard of it either.
Interesting the way climate change is playing out.

[hobbit709]

2. Had that about 30 years ago.

My case wasn't too severe but ever since then I have a mold allergy. I can tell immediately if the spore count in the air hits 1000-which seems to be the trigger level for me.

Of course here in Austin, the mold count can hit to above 20K at times.

[marmar]

3. k/r

[dembotoz]

4. invasive species not just limited to strange looking shrubs

[MNBrewer]

9. Coccidioides is a native organism

[byeya]

5. There was an excellent guard for the San Antonio Spurs that caught the disease,was out

for close to a year and never regained the high level of skill for which he was known.

[byeya]

6. Yellow Fever: Another potentially reemergent disease for the USA. Yellow fever periodically

infected many in the USA. After the early 1800s the disease was mostly confined to the south, particularly the Mississippi River
drainage.
It became so severe after the turn of the 20th century that several minor leagues in the south cancelled the remainder of their seasons. People, like us, who are not brought up in an area with Yellow Fever present suffer the most severe cases. There
is a vaccine but in a few, it can kill.

[truedelphi]

7. Way back when Steve Wozniak threw a big bash

Of music, dancing and intoxication, a friend of mine came down with this disease. All you need to do to contract it is be out in the environs where the spores of the disease can get stirred up. Many if not all of the people who attended that bash were all exposed - I have no idea why some people get it and others don't.

And it is true - thid year, the entire state has been so dry, i imagine we are a risk, even in pleasant places north in the state that normally would not think about it.

It reminds me a bit of Q Fever, as well. Same sort of thing - it seems to be just your average flu and then it won't go away at all.

[City Lights]

8. My daughter had it when she was in 4th grade.

She was fine one day and the next was sick as a dog. Was running a fever over 104 and had red blotches all over her body. She was originally diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia and put on Zithromax. Her symptoms improved, but she never got completely better. After numerous chest x-rays, they finally decided to do some blood work. That's when they discovered Valley Fever. She missed so much school that year that the school threatened to make her repeat 4th grade, despite having straight A's. It was insane. It took forever for it to work itself out of her body.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. You want another factor?

The upper layer of land is removed at industrial wind and solar plants...coincidentally I am sure a good share of the cases are among these workers. I am sure it is just a coincidence