The Illness Can Be Caught By Inhaling California’s Air

Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : September 1, 2022

According to recent research, a new fungus has been discovered to be endemic to the soil of The United States of America in the southwestern district. This kind of fungus infection is responsible for causing sinus infections and headaches in the people who contract this infection. This fungus is known as Coccidioides. Despite attempts to prevent this kind of infection, this infection spreads exponentially. 

What is of concern is the lack of treatment available despite every possible opportunity to discover one. This fungus infection usually takes the form of one or the other disease, and this year it is valley fever which is increasing in parts of the United States of America. The medical department of the country has been able to report a search in the number of Valley fever reported in just one month as against the entire number of infections in a whole year. 

The chances of contracting this particular kind of infection increase across the western part of America, where the climate is usually dry and hot. In the year 2014 in which, only 1000 cases of this kind of fever caused by this fungus were reported, today, there are around 4000 cases currently active, and many of them are not yet reported.

Reasons For Occurrence

Since the risk caused by this kind of problem has increased to an extent, the medical departments and even scientists have decided to research to discuss why this kind of infection occurs. There has been a significant shift in the occurrence of this disease in the region, and it has been a cause of worry. According to the National Laboratory of California earth system scientists, a relationship has been established between Valley fever and the climate crisis. 

The Illness That Can Be Caught By Inhaling California's Air

According to his report, the western part of the United States of America is arid, and the negative part of climate change is likely to reduce the quantity of precipitation and make it drier. In such a situation, fungus growth occurs at a very high speed. Sometimes the fragments of the fungus break down to leave in the atmosphere some airborne particles. It is only because of these particles that human beings catch valley fever. This particular kind of mechanism tends to be contagious and spread from one person to another through physical contact. 

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Locations Where This Infection Is Widespread

Getting affected by valley fever is very common in the areas in which a beach is there. This infection is also widespread at archaeological sites because this fungus tends to live in the soil. The cause of infection significantly increases in Summer. The first infection symptom is respiratory problems followed by a very high fever. 

But out of all the people infected with this infection, around one percent only get the correct treatment because this fungus infection cannot be detected so quickly inside the human body. Around 40% of the American population faces respiratory problems. Also, only a few percent of people are responsible for developing signs at a very early age when it comes to the infection caused by Valley fever. According to the recent data available, the availability of treatment is less due to the lack of research on this. 

Conclusion

All the scientists and the researchers are working day in and day out to develop an effective treatment in the country. It is essential to discover the treatment so that the mortality rate caused by this kind of infection is reduced to a great extent. This is useful for the next level in order to develop the scope.

References:

🔵National Library Of Medicine (n.d) Pulmonary Health Effects of Air Pollution (Available Online):https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4776742/

🔵WebMD (2005-2022) Outdoor Pollution and Lung Function Effects (Available Online):https://www.webmd.com/lung/features/outdoor-pollution-and-lung-function-effects


Nikki Attkisson

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.

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