Months after a California music festival, concertgoers are coming down with valley fever.
What's happening?
The Lightning in a Bottle electronic dance music festival, held in Kern County from May 22-27, has left 19 people sick, with infections quadrupling over the last month, the Guardian reported on Sept. 5. Eight people have been hospitalized.
The illness is caused by inhaling the spores of a fungus endemic to the Southwest United States. Hotter and drier conditions over recent years have contributed to an increasing disease incidence in the state, per the newspaper.
In 2018, there were 12 times as many cases of valley fever as there were in 2000, the outlet noted. There were 9,000 cases in 2023 and 5,000 by the end of July this year.
Since 2014, U.S. cases have doubled, and California cases have tripled.
Why is this important?
Rains in winter, events in high-risk areas, and increased awareness about the disease and testing for it could have contributed to the higher number of cases. With the rising global temperature making droughts and heat waves more frequent and severe, the situation may get worse.
Valley fever causes "typical lung infection symptoms" such as cough and fever, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one in 10 people may develop long-term problems, while the infection can spread to other parts of the body in one in 100.
It may go undetected or cause mild symptoms, though extreme cases can be debilitating and even deadly.
"We're preparing for another possible increase in valley fever cases in the coming months, and we want Californians to know the signs and symptoms to detect it early," Dr. Tomás Aragón, the state public health officer, said in a statement, per the Guardian. "If you have a lingering cough and fatigue, please talk to a doctor about valley fever, especially if you've been outdoors in dusty air in the Central Valley or Central Coast regions."
What's being done about valley fever?
Those with immune problems and pregnant people are most at risk. The CDC says limiting exposure to outdoor dust in endemic areas, wearing an N95 respirator when working outdoors, and antifungal medication can help prevent the disease.
Travelers, including to Mexico and South America; humanitarian aid workers who take part in home-building projects and the like; and gardeners, horseback riders, and others who engage in similar outdoor activities are also susceptible to the disease, which cannot spread from person to person.
A long-term solution is to move from consuming dirty energy sources, such as coal and gas, to clean energy sources, such as solar.
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