The Arizona Department of Health Services has reported more than 14,000 cases of Valley fever in the state this year. That's the highest caseload the state has seen in more than a decade.
“We’re almost at the end of the year and it does look like quite a large number,” said Dr. John Galgiani, director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the University of Arizona.
Valley fever is a fungal infection. It typically causes flu-like symptoms in humans, but it can cause more severe complications in some cases. The disease can also affect dogs or other animals. It can be treated with antifungal medications.
Valley fever is not contagious, rather, it spreads through airborne fungal spores that grow in the soil in the desert Southwest. Two-thirds of U.S. cases of Valley fever are contracted in Arizona.
In recent years, doctors have been getting better at testing for the disease and diagnosing it, Galgiani said. That may account for some of this year’s increase in cases.
But, Galgiani added, “I don’t think you’d see the kind of magnitude of increase we’re seeing this year over last year simply by doctors testing more.”
Gagiani thinks it’s more likely that the current spike in cases is related to Arizona’s extremely dry weather this year.
“We think that, if things are dry, the spores have a better chance of getting into the air,” Galgiani said.
Galgiani and colleagues have been developing a Valley fever vaccine for dogs which they hope could get USDA approval in 2025. The researchers are also working with a California-based health technology firm to develop a similar vaccine for humans, but for now, no vaccine is available.
