By Long dry spells can give a lethal fungal disease a lift.
While California droughts can temporarily keep cases of valley fever — a sometimes deadly illness caused by Coccidioides fungi — relatively low, cases skyrocket when rain clouds move back in, researchers report in the October Lancet Regional Health — Americas.
Valley fever is on the rise across parts of the western United States, spreading through fungal spores kicked up in airborne dust (SN: 1/4/23). Though most people who breathe in spores won’t get sick, those that do develop respiratory symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath. In severe cases, the fungus can cause long-term lung problems or invade other parts of the body.
