Overview
Valley fever, also called coccidioidomycosis (cahk-sid-ee-oy-doh-my-KOH-sis), is a fungal infection in your lungs. You get it from breathing in the fungus Coccidioides (cahk-sid-ee-OY-deze) from the environment.
Valley fever is the earliest stage of a Coccidioides infection. People with this condition often have no symptoms or flu-like symptoms, but it can sometimes progress to more serious stages of coccidioidomycosis.
Coccidioides (the fungus) lives in the soil in the southwest U.S., parts of Washington state, and Central and South America.
About 20,000 people are diagnosed with Valley fever each year. The infection is most common in California and Arizona. Even though it’s not contagious (doesn’t spread person-to-person), sometimes there are outbreaks where a lot of dirt and dust has been disturbed.
Symptoms
When to see a doctor
Complications
- High blood pressure.
- Diabetes.
- Heart failure.
- Some types of heart valve disease.
Prevention
- Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
- Don't smoke or use tobacco.
- Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
- Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Reduce and manage stress.
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