Strange disease broke out in the western United States when the weather was hot and dry

Valley fever - a disease caused by a fungus that grows in the southwestern US - is breaking out as the climate crisis makes the region increasingly drier.

California's Central Valley is arid because of climate change. (Image: Getty Images)

According to The Guardian (UK), Rob Purdie's life began to change when he felt a headache, a severe pain that occurred around the beginning of 2021 and lasted for many months. Purdie went to medical facilities to check, but the doctors were unable to accurately diagnose the disease that he had. They said he had a sinus infection and a headache. After many visits, Purdie finally knew what disease he had.

The man living in Bakersfield, California, had meningitis caused by valley fever - a disease caused by the fungus Coccidioides, a fungus endemic to the southwestern United States. Poor health for many years, Purdie struggled to find treatments with a series of difficulties afterward. He shared: 'This disease has robbed me of all my health. It had a huge impact on my family. We lost everything from financial security to retirement benefits.

Purdie is among a very small percentage of people who develop severe forms of valley fever. Most people will not get sick after exposure, and very few people develop severe symptoms of the disease. But for those who develop the chronic form of the disease, it can be seriously devastating.

This tissue sample from a patient with Valley fever. (Photo: CDC)

Valley fever is breaking out in California's Central Valley. In the future, experts warn, cases could increase across the western US as the climate crisis makes the region drier and hotter.

Kern County, located just north of Los Angeles, at the end of California's Central Valley, has seen a significant trend in valley fever cases over the past decade. According to public health data, Kern County, where Mr. Purdie lives, recorded about 1,000 cases in 2014. In 2021, the area also recorded more than 3,000 cases.

In recent years, authorities have ramped up testing and increased awareness about the outbreak, but the region still sees a significant increase in cases. Dr Royce Johnson, medical director of the Valley Fever Institute in Bakersfield, said: 'Right now, the area is seeing a lot more valley fever cases. We think most of those cases are climate and weather related.'

Morgan Gorris, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory who has studied the link between the climate crisis and valley fever (also known as Coccidioidomycosis) - said the fungus that causes valley fever The valley needs dry and hot conditions to survive.

'Much of the western US has been very dry. When we look at climate change projections, we predict that the western half of the country will get drier and drier. This condition promotes more valley fever cases,' Ms. Gorris said.

The fungus, which grows in the soil as filaments, breaks off and flies into the air when dug up, it can spread over 120km - it has even infected sea otters, Dr. Johnson said. People can come into contact with the disease-causing fungus by digging in the ground where the fungus thrives or simply by breathing in the air.

In particular, people who work outdoors have a higher risk of disease. Last summer, seven firefighters responding to fires around the Tehachapi Mountains, southeast of Bakersfield, contracted respiratory illnesses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3 of them were diagnosed with valley fever.

This farm is in Kern County, California (USA).

According to Mr. Johnson, about 40% of people with the disease develop symptoms of a very mild respiratory illness, only 1% have a more severe outcome. Most people will have no symptoms after being exposed to the causative fungus. Experts estimate that in fact, very few people will be diagnosed with valley fever.

In the US, mainly in Arizona and California, about 20,000 cases of valley fever were reported to the CDC in 2019. According to the most recent data, there have been about 200 deaths from the disease on average each year since 1999. until 2019.

Research conducted by Ms. Gorris and other experts has shown that the climate crisis could widen the range of valley fever cases. Ms. Gorris predicts that in the scenario of a warming climate and high greenhouse gas emissions, the endemic area of ​​valley fever will extend further north, to the US-Canada border by 2100.

'Mitigating climate change can help limit the impacts of valley fever on human health. The important thing is that we should not be pessimistic and hopeless,' she said. In California, she warned, as the weather turns into a period of more intense rain and then into the dry season, these are favorable conditions for valley fever to thrive and possibly more cases.

Mr. Purdie's condition worsened after a while of being diagnosed. At the time, he lived on a large plot of land in the suburbs of Bakersfield and often spent time outdoors. The disease has turned his life into chaos. Purdie, then a financial planner, had to sell precious family memorabilia in response to illness.

In the end, doctors found the right treatment. They gave Purdie four pills a day and injected them directly into his brain every 16 weeks. This was a complicated treatment, causing him to vomit often, sometimes to faint. Purdie also has difficulty interacting with people.

Mr. Purdie recovered and worked at the Valley Fever Institute as a patient and valley fever awareness program development coordinator.

'I have a really severe form of valley fever. This disease can be very scary and debilitating. But I don't want people to be afraid of that. I want people to be aware of this epidemic," he shared.