Valley Fever should I be concerned?

[WATCHFULI70]

With all of the reported cases of Valley Fever over the past 15 years and the new information about rising cases, I am concerned about my health if I decide to live in Arizona. My husband and I have lived in Las Vegas twice and Laughlin once and never had a known problem.
 Does anyone have any type of knowledge in this area to be able to help me make an informed decision about my move to Arizona? If this helps any, we plan on living in Kingmand and also traveling down to Quartzsite.

Thank you for any and all replies.


Dawn

 

[djkeev]

As I understand it, if you're healthy?
Not much to worry about.

Life is fatal, you can't go worrying about all of the "what if's".

It's been found in Washington State too...........

Back East we have Lyme disease....... Life goes on, I still go outside and cut trees and do yard work.
If I get it? Well......... "oh crap!"

Dave

 

[Almost There]

Well, let's see!

According to the CDC - the rate of Valley Fever is about 42.6 per 100,000 overall with a slightly higher percentage amongst the over 60 group (69.1/100,000) which in itself is an infinitesimally small percentage. Then we also find out that the greater Pheonix and Tuscon areas have the highest rates as opposed to less urban areas, primarily because it's considered to be a community acquired disease...so the more people in an area, the greater the chance of contracting it.

The actual incidence of death from it averages about 200 people per year (over 18 years of study) with no significant increase over the years. That includes persons who were already immune-compromised.

Your other thread is about a fear of scorpions and snakes.

Djkev has it about as right as it can get!!

 

[DwelledLongAgo]

As I understand it, if you're healthy?
Not much to worry about.

Life is fatal, you can't go worrying about all of the "what if's".

It's been found in Washington State too...........

Back East we have Lyme disease....... Life goes on, I still go outside and cut trees and do yard work.
If I get it? Well.........  "oh crap!"

Dave

Exactly.

The best strategy is to be as healthy as you can be.  Most of the time our immune systems can handle what we encounter as long as we take reasonable care of ourselves and take reasonable precautions.

These days we read about all sorts of things.  Around here, everyone's worried about Zika and Lyme disease right now.  Occasionally you'll hear about something more exotic and everyone will go berserk about it for a while.  Let's see...remember Swine Flu? Bird flu? West Nile Virus? SARS? MRSA? Anthrax? Mad Cow Disease?  All of them were supposed to be our demise...yet here we all are, still breathing.

Live your life.  Take care of yourself.  Try to be happy.  You'll probably be okay.  The odds are with you!

 

[azken]

I had valley fever around 1988..very sick for a couple of weeks (think of flu x 2)..took several months to get rid of the fatigue that accompanies the illness..left a little scarring on one lung..no major residue however. The good news..per medical expert I will never get it again.

Also got stung by a scorpion on my left ring finger while I was in bed (it was under my pillow)..have no idea how it got there..instant numbness from the tips of my fingers to the elbow joint..took almost exactly 72 hours for numbness to leave..oh yeah, the scorpion, it received severe head injuries and was unable to ever work or feed its family again.

 

[rvpopeye]

It's actually carried by dust that you inhale on windy days ....some people wear surgical masks etc to keep out dust .

 

[Richard]

...it's considered to be a community acquired disease...so the more people in an area, the greater the chance of contracting it.

Do you haves an explicit source for this conclusion? I believe valley fever is fungal in nature, contracted by breathing in fungus that resides in dirt/dust, and that it's not communicable between peeople.

 

[Almost There]

Taken from the CDC site:

http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/coccidioidomycosis/statistics.html

In states where Valley fever is endemic and reportable (Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah), overall incidence in 2011 was 42.6 cases per 100,000 population and was highest among persons aged 60-79 years (69.1/100,000).1 In highly endemic areas such as the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas of Arizona, Valley fever causes an estimated 15% to nearly 30% of community-acquired pneumonias, but low testing rates suggest that Valley fever may be under-recognized.2,3
http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/coccidioidomycosis/statistics.html#three
http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/coccidioidomycosis/statistics.html#three
And from another part of the web site, an interesting note about Valley Fever outbreaks:

http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/coccidioidomycosis/statistics.html#three
Although most cases of Valley fever are not associated with outbreaks, Valley fever outbreaks linked to a common source do occasionally occur, particularly after events that disturb large amounts of soil. Past outbreaks have occurred in military trainees,6,7 archeological workers,8-11 solar farm workers,12 and in people exposed to earthquakes13 and dust storms.14 If you live in an area with Coccidioides in the environment, contact your local or state health department for the most up-to-date information about outbreaks.


I knew next to nothing about Valley Fever but when someone, particularly someone new here, is concerned about something enough to pose a question about it, I go looking for information!

If nothing else, I've raised my awareness of it enough that should I end up with the symptoms, particularly after travelling back northeast, I would raise the possibility of it with my medical care provider.

 

[highdesertranger]

Valley Fever spores live in the soil. if you disturb the soil is when you are most likely to contract it. you get it by breathing in the spores. another way to contract it is during a dust storm. however for the spores to become active they must get moist. so in other words it must rain. after a rain storm you are unlikely to have a dust storm so it's kinda rare that you get it from blowing dust. however under the right conditions it does happen.

now if you are digging in soil that poses a whole other set of problems. you will be surprised at the moisture content of desert soil. even if the top layer is bone dry, down 1-2 feet the moisture can easily be 15% or more depend on the amount of time since the last good rain. it takes a long dry spell to get the moisture content down under 15% at 2 feet.

now you must be wondering why do I know about Valley Fever. because as a prospector I dig in the desert and I run a dry washer. a dry washer creates a lot of airborne dust. even though I try to stay upwind of the dust it doesn't always work that way. so I wear a respirator or a dust mask.

so to recap unless you are in an area where the moist soil is being disturbed and is becoming airborne your chances of getting Valley Fever are very low. highdesertranger

 

[djkeev]

Dry Washer....... Things I've never heard of!

Google IS your friend!

http://www.goldfeverprospecting.com/drywashers1.html

Dave

 

[DannyB1954]

There are natural hazards wherever you live. Earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes West Nile, sink holes, Zitka, lyme, and probably a dozen others.
I live in Southern Nevada. My dog has had not one flea or tick since moving here. I have not been bitten by a mosquito either. It does get dusty here, but Valley fever does not seem to be a problem.

 

[Headache]

Danny don't forget the cicada outbreaks!

There is another thread about this as well with some useful information including particulate masks for those knocked on their ass by dust. I can handle outdoor dust but for some reason indoor dust knocks the crap out of me. Here's a link to the masks:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001393KHM/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[WATCHFULI70]

Wow! Everyone has given such a quick and informative response and I appreciate it. I'm not to concerned about myself but my husband does have Rheumatoid Arthritis, which means that his body is constantly fighting itself {I'm still learning about that.} 
 It's so easy to get wrapped up with something that you don't know. I don't remember who responded with all of the other Zika, Bird Flu, Swine Flu etc, but you are right about that. Something is going to get you, no matter how hard you try to be careful. I live in NW Ohio and the air quality is questionable and it hits me with allergy like symptoms. I just want to move back out west where my husband and i were so happy and healthier. Humidity sucks!


Thank you to everyone.

 

[WATCHFULI70]

With all of the reported cases of Valley Fever over the past 15 years and the new information about rising cases, I am concerned about my health if I decide to live in Arizona. My husband and I have lived in Las Vegas twice and Laughlin once and never had a known problem.
 Does anyone have any type of knowledge in this area to be able to help me make an informed decision about my move to Arizona? If this helps any, we plan on living in Kingman and also traveling down to Quartzsite.

Thank you for any and all replies.


Dawn

This is the information that made me think I should be looking for answers from people who either live in Arizona or vacation there.

http://www.valleyfeversurvivor.com/

 

[akrvbob]

Both my current dog Cody, and my last dog Homer had Valley Fever. It is NOT communicable. Homer died of cancer before I could even get the Valley Fever squared away. Cody has responded very well to anti-fungals and is basically free of it now, but he will get a yearly blood test for it for many years to come. Some dogs are on the meds for life, I got lucky that Cody was young and healthy and responded right away.

They are both diggers so they stick their nose right in the desert ground and take deep breaths.

It's a very low risk for people, but it is a real risk.
Bob

 

[Almost There]

This is the information that made me think I should be looking for answers from people who either live in Arizona or vacation there.

http://www.valleyfeversurvivor.com/

I can't watch YouTube Videos but the first link is to an association for people who have contracted VF.

Personally I find that groups like that are no doubt helpful to those who need information and assistance with treating a specific condition, much like a site for patients and friends of those with RA would be of interest to you and your husband.

BUT, I also find that a lot of places like that tend to dwell on the most drastic scary aspects of a condition. They're great for those who already have the problem but not so much for a reasonable assessment of REAL risk.

As Bob put it, 8 years, Zero problem.

We should all be aware that it exists but also realize that it's much more dangerous to drive on the interstate than it is to boondock in the desert.

 

[ccbreder]

Dry dust spores will get moisture from the mucus membrane.

 

[greeneyedggirl]

Do you haves an explicit source for this conclusion? I believe valley fever is fungal in nature, contracted by breathing in fungus that resides in dirt/dust, and that it's not communicable between peeople.

Richard is correct, "Valley Fever" is a microbial fungus that is easily airborn and seeks out warmer, wetter places to grow. A single microscopic particle gets into your lungs and it starts to grow and spread.  Common symptomology with colds and flus, as a fungal infection there is no easy (or inexpensive) treatment for it.  If one if "healthy" there is a chance the body can fight it some, and it will go into hiding in the body until the immune system is weak enough, and then it can kill.  CDC has determined it is endemic (wide spread) in the dessert southwest (and a small patch of Washington State) and epidemic in many of these areas.  It specifically warms people with any kind of compromised immune systems NOT to travel to these areas. 

It is NOT a community based condition, and it IS what many refer to as Quartzite Crud.  Sadly for me, this means NO RTR, NO Ehrenburg, NO Slab City or Salvation Mountain, NO Jashua Tree, NO camping south of San Francisco and that really hurts my feelings.  I'll get over it.

There are tests for it, if the doctor knows what he/she is doing, and it has mandatory reporting of tests to the CDC.

Colorado here I come!

Sami

 

[user 15722]

With all of the reported cases of Valley Fever over the past 15 years and the new information about rising cases, I am concerned about my health

As are all of us !  

The big WX from those storms will bring more moisture where it usually isn't, causing populations of vermin to expand... then come fleas.

There's also the hanta virus out there, and some sort of hepatitis A causing big problems in San Diego and people are watching where it may spread.

These may cause a perception traveling nomads are undesirable...

I have had two friends who contracted the bubonic plague in California.  One died. Of the two, George was the least healthy of them.
They were unrelated, by miles, and time.  George got it from a flea bite from his cat.  Really neato cat !  I remember it well. Beautiful cat !
and I am Not a cat person...  It died, also.  Our local sheriff tracked me down, on a jobsite, and kinda grilled me if I had any clues where he might have buried that cat, so they could test it...  I had never spent that much time with him, so had no clue... 

These problems tend to run in cycles.  There is an increased incidence on a couple of the northern AZ reservations presently, but please don't take my word for it...  this type of thing can easily be verified by appropriate agencies.  wheels

Yep, I just checked...  if concerned you can simply google both of those...  Biggest outbreak in SD since the 90's. and the other problem is apparently up in the Coconino Forest of AZ and UT...

Livestock and poultry bedding areas are a vector, along with pets that may get into various things where the rats and mice congregate.

 

[AnnieSantiago]

Hi Dawn,
I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley and had Valley Fever as a child. As a result I have a "nodule" on my lungs that causes the doctors to freak out everytime they do an x-ray. I carry around an old xray just to show them it's always been there.  That is the only side affect of my Valley Fever, which I probably got digging for prehistoric shark's teeth in Bakersfield long before they knew about and closed the archeological dig due to Valley Fever spores. Nobody else in my extended family got VF and I know of nobody else with it, so I'd say you really don't have much to worry about.