The powerful dust storms that swept across Maricopa County last week and again last night likely will produce a large increase in new valley fever infections over the next two to three months, an expert at the University of Arizona predicts.
John Galgiani, MD, director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the UA College of Medicine, said such an increase in cases occurred following a similar huge blow in California's Central Valley. Years ago, a Santa Ana wind storm blew dust from the Central Valley as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area.
The fungus that causes valley fever is highly prevalent in Kern County in California, and Maricopa County in Arizona. A published story in the Western Journal of Medicine reported on a storm that resulted in 120 extra valley fever infections in Kern County, most in the subsequent two months.
"Because Maricopa County has 10 times the number of people and three times the proportion of the population susceptible to first valley fever infections, we should expect 3,600 additional valley fever infections in Maricopa County for a total of 5,000 infections in July and August," Dr. Galgiani said.
Public health officials and other medical professionals recently raised the concern that valley fever infections would increase as a result of the July 5 wind storm. Using the California experience as a guide, Dr. Galgiani said it is possible to draw an estimate of just how large that increase may be.
"People living in Phoenix and the surrounding areas should know about this risk and seek medical attention if they develop symptoms of pneumonia during that time," Dr. Galgiani said. The local medical community should be on heightened alert for the possibility of valley fever in patients with new illnesses. Galgiani said early diagnosis and management should reduce the overall severity of the infections.
Valley fever is a fungal infection that develops after inhaling a spore that is released from the dirt by wind or other disturbances. Many individuals experience no illness and become immune. Others develop a pneumonia-like illness, joint pains, rashes or severe fatigue. A small number of people experience severe – even life-threatening – spread of the infection from the lungs to other parts of the body.
The UA Valley Fever Center for Excellence was established in 1996 by the Arizona Board of Regents for the benefit of the entire state. Based at the UA College of Medicine in Tucson, the center has developed a research base including all three of the state's universities and an information program for both the scientific community and the general public.
1 comment:
As the executive director of Arizona Victims of Valley Fever, I know the heartbreak of valley fever. And Dr. Galgiani is not overestimating the number of cases that will result from the Big Dust Storm in Phoenix that made national news. To most of the U.S, it's a spectacular sight, but to someone who's lived in the area for 30 years, as I have, it is the harbinger of bad news for pets and people. Arizona needs to do more than claim valley fever as its disease; it needs to put their money where their mouth is and fund a cure.
Janice Arenofsky, Exec. Dir. www.arizonavictimsofvalleyfever.org
Post a Comment