Incidents of Valley Fever declining in San Bernardino County
Often cited as potential danger by critics of solar-power projects
SAN BERNARDINO — While the number of cases of Valley Fever has risen in California in recent years, San Bernardino County has seen a decline.
Known by the scientific name Coccidioidomycosis, the fungal infection gained notoriety in the Central Valley and is castigated as a byproduct of desert development, including solar-power projects. The county prevalence of cocci has declined from 76 cases reported in 2012 to 45 last year.
"The connection has been drawn between construction on solar projects in San Luis Obispo County" and worker infections, John Zemanek, a spokesman for Alliance for Desert Preservation, said.
Past media reports detail an outbreak of Valley Fever there that affected 28 solar workers on two sites in early to mid-2013. The fungus is native to that county, other parts of California, Arizona, Mexico and Central and South America. The cocci fungal spores can be spread when land is disturbed and winds loft them.
"When soil is disturbed by strong winds or by activities such as construction, farming or digging, the spores can become airborne and may be inhaled along with dust particles," Gail Sondermeyer — a master of public health — and three colleagues from the California Department of Public Health wrote in the Spring 2013 edition of Medical Board of California Newsletter. "Anyone who lives in, visits or travels through endemic areas is at risk of contracting coccidioidomycosis.
"Researchers believe that contributing factors may include changes in climate and rainfall patterns, soil-disturbing construction activities, an increase in susceptible persons moving to disease-endemic areas, and heightened awareness and diagnosis."
Those with a weakened immune system or respiratory disease are most at risk, medical experts say. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms tend to resemble those of the flu and can range from minor to severe, including fever, cough, chest pain, chills, night sweats, headache, fatigue, joint aches and a red, spotty rash. Skin or blood tests, and sometimes lung X-rays, can indicate if the illness is present.
About 40 percent of those who breathe in the spores show no symptoms at all, and the condition is not transmissible from person to person.
Vaccine development efforts are underway but no vaccine is yet available, according to the state DPH.
"Valley Fever is not uncommon among humans in San Bernardino County," spokesman David Wert said by email. "California accounts for about 25 percent of all cases nationwide, and San Bernardino County had 75 cases in 2011."
San Bernardino County's health officer, Dr. Maxwell Ohikhuare, said in an interoffice memo the county "has a lower incidence rate than both the national and state levels." He wrote in November that the number of cases in San Bernardino County was 2.8 per 100,000 people, while the state posted a rate of 12.1 and the national rate was 4.2 per 100,000.
Although Valley Fever can affect animals, San Bernardino County does not track incidents of the fever in animals, Wert said.
Go to www.sbcounty.gov/uploads/dph/dehs/Depts/EnvironmentalHealth/EHSDocuments/Coccidioidomycosis.pdf for more information.
Gary Brodeur may be contacted at 760-951-6245 or firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow him on Twitter @DP_gbrodeur.