oops, I meant over ten years, not one year

ganddb -
"Does anyone know anything about Valley Fever? Apparently it is caused by a fungus that is native to the soils of southern Arizona and southern California."

Actually, alkaline soils from the American SW all the way down to Argentina.

"it doesn't appear that he will ever really recover. I can't understand why something so serious is not talked about."

It's well-known in the area, and certainly studied in medical schools all over the country - more as a thing to watch for if someone has certain symptoms and was recently in the SW USA.

"I haven't met one person here in the northwest who has ever heard of it and none has had any idea that they were exposing themselves to it while vacationing."

Just as people visiting the Pacific NW aren't warned about Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever ... which is a pretty nasty disease.

"My brother is very short of breath and has to wear a mask to go outside. That is one heck of a way to live!"

That does NOT sound like Valley Fever ... has he had a thorough exam recently by a pulmonary specialist. The usual lingering symptoms are fatigue and joint pain.

"I realize that not everyone gets it, but that your chance of getting it is nearly 100% over a one year time frame."

Wrong. I got it after 10+ years in the area. Most people don't know they have been infected until later, when a skin test shows up positive, or a healed scar shows up on an x-ray. After 10 years continuous residence here, you are unlikely to get it - either you

"Not everyone gets really sick with it, but about 3% die and another 37% have lingering effects. This seems like major medical news to me."
Also wrong: fatality is less than 1%, really severe complicaiotns in the 2-3% range. 60% never knew they had it, and most people are over it in a couple of months. It's less dangerous then West Nile Fever.

A vaccine was developed, but it's still got nasty side effects. If it can be tamed, it would be a worthwhile vaccine for newcomers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Valley Fever link

lazygardens, thank you for all your information. My only information came from surfing the net which I why I posted here. My brother is under the care of a doctor, but I don't know if he is a specialist. Initially he was in bed for about 4 months with VF. My sister-in-law had it but recovered in a month or so. I was alarmed when I saw my brother a couple of months ago, but he has since gotten worse. I didn't mean to slam the southwest but I can understand how my posting would have looked that way. It was written in a state of distress. I obviously have a lot more to learn on the subject.

"Initially he was in bed for about 4 months with VF"

That's quite possible - some people really get flattened by it.

What can happen is that the person has some other problem, and the Valley Fever gets the blame for the continuing symptoms, so they never look for anything else.

My brother is having part of a lung removed on Friday. He started coughing up blood clots the day after Christmas. It is another after effect of Valley Fever which he first got about 4 years ago - and yes that is the diagnosis of a lung specialist.

I'm sorry your brother is having such a terrible time with Valley Fever. I lived in Phoenix for fifteen years and am certainly familiar with it, many people I know had it over those years but never that severly. It is very well known to doctors in the area and often discussed in the media there.

I've never seen a reference to it since I've lived in Oregon though until I read your post.

Best wishes to your brother.

Some people who inhale the fungal spores really get bad off. About 60% of people who have it don't know because they have no symptoms, and many people just get mild flu-like symptoms. Only 1% or so get really sick. I'm really sorry you brother is one of those people. Did he have any immune system problems before getting valley fever?

We learn about it in vet school as something to watch out for when there are compatible clinical signs and a travel history to endemic areas (I'm in Raleigh NC). But it's really almost a foreign disease here.

You may get better search results if you look at coccidiomycosis instead of valley fever.

I wish your brother well.

Thank you for the good wishes. I don't know that my brother has any particular problems with his immune system, but he was born a 7 month preemie 70 years ago and I wonder if his lungs weren't compromised as a result.

I've lived in California all my life and do not know one person myself who has gotten VF. I do know of cases because I worked in hospitals all mylife and they had one or two cases that came through there, many more TB cases, however. From what I hear, most residents develop immunities but it can show up after severe dust storms but certainly not as prevalent as say the flu. Most of the bad problems come from secondary complications in immunocompromised individuals but this is a wild generalization as each case is unique. I would not avoid a California vacation as there are many beautiful areas to visit here and there will be germs everywhere that you can't avoid anyway. As a member of the mature adults we are always waiting for the next shoe to drop. I sincerely hope you brother finds something that can afford him less discomfort.

I am so sorry about your brother. I know you wonder a great deal as to why he has so much trouble with VF. At his age, everything is worse than for a younger person. I can't help but wonder if he spent a lot of his life around heavy smokers or in polluted air. Anything that could weaken his lung structure would certainly make things worse for him.
PB

I was diagnosed with Valley Fever in 1979, I was always
sick, everytime I went to the doctor they said I had
Bronchitis. Then my doctor sent me to a specialist that
ran valley fever skin test on me. I had it real bad and
due to being pregnant I couldn't take the medication for
it. I left the valley and I think that was the best.
I was gone for about 12 years. I've had a few problems
lately that make me wonder if its coming back but nothing
serious. Once you test positive you always will. The
medicine they give does not cure it but only helps
control. Maybe your brother should moving to higher
altitude for a bit and see if that helps him.

Gemfire