Drought Makes California Soil Breeding Grounds for Fungus that Cause Valley Fever

The extreme drought in California has transformed the state's soil into the ideal breeding grounds for the fungus that causes Valley Fever.

The summer of 2022 has undoubtedly highlighted the various threats that climate change imposes on human health, with floods, fires, and record-breaking heat waves.

While such natural disasters are obvious, several other climate change-related effects on public health are less obvious but no less worrisome. Consider a fungus, which can cause diseases, that has been growing in California soil due to the drought and then dispersing into the atmosphere.

The Fungi Called Coccidioides

The disease it causes, which is known as Valley Fever informally, is caused by a fungus called Coccidioides, which can infect anybody who breathes it in. It can be a cruel, frequently crippling condition with symptoms that range from excruciating headaches to unforgiving sinus infections. The illness can even develop into meningitis after being contracted, which is perhaps the most alarming aspect.

Affecting Lives

Former financial planner Rob Purdie claimed that it cost him everything, including his health. His family was greatly impacted by it. He claims that they completely lost everything, including their retirement savings and financial stability. The father of two claims that meningitis brought on by Valley Fever completely changed his life.

Coccidioides need harsh, arid environments to survive. This indicates that it has survived the state's numerous years with little to no water. Valley Fever cases have increased as Coccidioides has in the Central Valley of California.

The prevalence of Valley fever has significantly increased, according to infectious disease specialist Dr. Royce Johnson. Johnson believes that weather and climate play a major role in this.

Much of the western US is already very dry, according to Morgan Gorris, a scientist for earth systems from Los Alamos National Laboratory. According to climate change predictions, the western portion of the US will likely continue to be relatively dry, which will support Valley Fever.

Importantly, the disease won't necessarily be released into the airways if the soil is left undisturbed. However, any disruption, such as a large-scale archeological dig or a tiny animal that burrows, will cause the fungus to spread from the soil to the air. The spores that cause diseases can travel up to 75 miles from their original location.

Read also: Valley Fever: Increasing Infectious Disease Cases Linked to Inhalation of Fungi from Dust Storm in the Western US 

Windows Up

Johnson forewarned that someone from Long Beach who travels to the Bay Area while driving with their window down on the 5 may contract Valley fever. In a sense, the archaeologists working there are standing on top of it in the foothills west of Bakersfield.

Scientists recently issued a warning that the next major pandemic could be fungus-related, so the rising incidence of a harmful, crippling fungus-caused disease is concerning.

Let's Call It "Good News."

It appears that any progress made in combating climate change may also be made in combating fresh fungus threats.

Gorris pointed out that the negative effects of Valley fever on health could be reduced by reducing climate change. It is crucial to realize that it is not all doom and gloom, he added, Neoscope reports.

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