KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Valley Fever, a potentially deadly fungal infection, has been reported by at least one Santa Clarita resident who hiked recently in Towsley Canyon.
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Valley Fever, which can be contracted by breathing in dust that contains a particular fungus, has been on the rise since the United States first began collecting data on the disease in 1995, and a Santa Clarita resident reported that she’s been infected as well.
“I went to Urgent Care and was diagnosed with pneumonia,” said Jessie, a lifelong Santa Clarita resident and individual diagnosed with Valley Fever. “But then after I visited my primary care doctor, and she saw the rash on my feet, she immediately asked, ‘Have you been hiking in Towsley Canyon?’”
Jessie, following a chest scan, was summarily diagnosed with Coccidioidomycosis, or Valley Fever, a common fungal disease transmitted through the inhalation of Coccidioides immitis spores that are carried in dust.
“Valley Fever is an illness caused by a fungus,” said a County of Los Angeles Public Health news release. “The fungus lives in the soil and dirt in some places in California and other areas in the Southern U.S., as well as Central and South America. It can get inside the lungs and cause an illness that might seem like the flu.”
The number of reported Valley Fever infections continues to increase. In 2016, a total of 714 cases were reported across Los Angeles County, compared with 521 in 2015, a 37 percent increase. Each year since 2009, a greater number of cases were reported than the year before, and the total number of reports has increased by nearly four times during that time.
The spores that cause Valley Fever are most commonly found in the Antelope Valley in cities such as Palmdale and Lancaster. But the disease-causing fungus can also be present in other areas due to winds.
“The spores are too small to be seen (and) they can get into the air when anything disturbs the soil, such as farming, construction and wind,” said Department of Public Health officials.
However, experts clarified that most people that are infected with the disease often only experience mild symptoms or none at all in connection to their Valley Fever.
“About three out of every five people who come in contact with the Valley Fever fungus will not get sick,” said the news release. “People who get sick can have symptoms that last a month or more.”
Symptoms for Valley Fever include:
- Fever
- Tiredness
- Cough
- Chest pain
- Muscle or joint aches
- Headaches
- Weight Loss
- Night Sweats
This is not the first time Southern California residents have been affected by Valley Fever. Doctors who studied a 1994 deadly outbreak of Valley Fever in Ventura County concluded in a report that dust clouds kicked up by the Northridge earthquake carried fungus spores that caused the disease.
“Most of the cases — 56 percent–were in Simi Valley at the foot of the Santa Susana Mountains,” according to a 1997 Los Angeles Times article. “The quake had unleashed landslides in the mountains and sent clouds of dust drifting over the city, while seaward winds blew some of the dust west into the Oxnard Plain.”
Incidents such as the recent Rye Fire, Creek Fire, and other natural disasters that affect the coverage of soil can also play into the disbursement of spores similar to earthquakes.
The best way to lower the risk of contracting Valley Fever is to avoid “breathing in dirt or dust in areas where Valley Fever is more common,” according to Public Health’s news release.
“If you can’t avoid it, make sure to wet-down dirt and soil before working or playing in it to help prevent ‘dust clouds’ or soil being sent into the air,” said the news release.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health tracks the number of people who get Valley Fever and the places where people become ill. They also teach doctors, other healthcare providers and the public about this illness.
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I hope this is fake news
I’ve known 4 people who contracted Valley Fever. One from the 1994 earthquake and more recently, 3 others. One who lives in Arizona and West Virginia, one who spent several months in Phoenix and one who lives in Hesperia, CA. The 3 recent people who have contracted it were treated and after a few months, are finally on the mend. The friend from 1994 had many complications and still suffers effects to this day. By God’s grace, he is still alive and with us!! It seems that dr’s are diagnosing Valley Fever and treating it much sooner than in the past.
How was it decided Towsley was the exact place that the wind blew valley fever dust? The wind can blow dust anywhere, even in your own backyard. With as many Towsley Regulars who visit the park, you’d think the odds would be greater than one person claiming infection from that particular park.
Exactly! No way to know for sure where it resides. My daughter got it about 11 years ago. We assume she got it from Arroyo Seco as the school was a under construction but there’s no way to know for sure.
I worked with a man that got valley fever in 1982. He died from complications. Hope they caught the valley fever early, in this man.
I have valley fever right now and I live in Palmdale ca. Not fun at all.
I was diagnosed with vf pneumonia in august and am still on anti fungal treatment with ongoing infiltrates in my lungs. I am an avid trail hiker and the park service graded the Mulholland fire road just a few weeks before I became ill. I have hiked these trails for 25 years but I guess my immune system was low.
He failed to mention that once you’ve had valley fever you are immune to it. Most people will never know they’ve had it.
Absolutely wrong.
Some clinicians are still under this misconception. I have had re infections twice since the initial infection in 2012
I just contracted VF with pneumonia a day or two before Thanksgiving. I do not go out very much do to chronic pain but I did go to Sams Club in Canyon Country to do thanksgiving shopping and it was extremely windy. All I did was walk into the store and to my car. I do not hike and I am not in construction but they are doing a lot of new construction in Canyon Country. I have horrible symptoms, lesions on my body, the worst joint pain, it feels like someone is peeling off my fingernails of my nailbeds, low grade fevers, chills and cold sweats. I can barely walk. It is taking so long to get treatment because insurance co. Won’t cover my antifungal (I’m allergic to fluconazole that they usually use for this). Doctor told me 6 months on high dose antifungal and then a bunch of scans to make sure the nodules in my lungs are gone as well as the lesions and all symptoms. Some people are on this for a year+. Cover your nose and mouth in windy conditions is all the advice I can give. It is extremely easy to get this without doing much.
Thank you Colleen and to everybody else who shared. I will say a prayer for all of you who have been affected. I was considering moving to Lancaster with my wife and elderly 78 year mom but now will reconsider as her immune system is already weak. I’m also a realtor and unless this is made more aware to the public, will leave a lot of potential people vulnerable as sellers (and realtors) are only required to disclose what we know. I hope there is a cure or treatment found soon.
I am currently recovering from this disease. I live in Paso Robles, I don’t know where it came from, but it’s not nice. The leg weakness is profound! I had bone pain has lessened, I have been on diflucan for two months. It’s good to read others stories, shows me I am on the mend. I do feel better everyday. What a trip!