Health officials report concerning number of Valley Fever cases

The Monterey County Health Department is reporting an alarming number of Valley Fever cases.

In 2016, there were 80 cases. In 2017, there were 190 cases. So far this year, there have been 142 cases reported.

“That’s very concerning because most of the cases are diagnosed in late summer and fall, between the months of August and December,” said Public Health Officer Dr. Ed Moreno. “Last year, most of the illnesses began in November of 2017, so we haven’t reached the period of time where we see the most cases and we’re already up to 142 cases.”

Most of the cases are happening in South Monterey County – Soledad, Greenfield, King City and unincorporated communities, places known to be windy and dusty.

“We know that the organism that causes Valley Fever will germinate and grow and spread during rainy conditions and then during the dry conditions, they form little spores that can stay dormant for years and we get those conditions down in South Monterey County,” Moreno said.

People who work in certain conditions are also at a higher risk – construction workers, military workers, wildland firefighters and archeologists. Ag workers aren’t considered to be at a higher risk at this point.

“We haven’t seen higher rates of Valley Fever among people who work in agriculture,” Moreno said. “What studies have shown is that soil that has been cultivated for several years for agriculture purposes does not contain very much of the spore, the organism that causes Valley Fever. The irrigated or cultivated land isn’t a place where the organism prefers to grow so there’s low concentration there. So farm workers working in the fields are at this time not considered to be an increased risk of exposure or illness from Valley Fever unless they themselves live in an area somewhere else in the community where there’s a lot more dust where the spores are more prevalent.”

African Americans and people of Filipino descent are at a higher risk for more severe cases, as well as those with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms of Valley Fever are similar to the flu, even pneumonia and include fever, fatigue, aches, pains and a cough. Symptoms tend to go away on their own.

However, in some serious cases, the fever will spread to other parts of the body, like the organs, the bone and the brain.

That requires medical treatment, but doctors say once you beat Valley Fever, you will likely build up a natural immunity to it.