Spikes in Incurable Valley Fever Linked to Mega Drought

Spikes in Incurable Valley Fever Linked to Mega Drought
Dust rises as a farmer plows a field in Mendota, Calif., in the state's San Joaquin Valley on March 11, 2009. Dust carries spores that cause valley fever, a growing problem in the southwestern states. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
Autumn Spredemann
Updated:
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The vast majority of the American West is struggling with enduring “mega drought” conditions that some experts think will last until 2030 and that are creating perfect conditions for an incurable disease to spread.

A microscopic fungal organism in the soil called coccidioides is becoming more mainstream because of a rise in human infections resulting from airborne spores thrown aloft by winds in the arid terrain.

Autumn Spredemann
Autumn Spredemann
Author
Autumn is a South America-based reporter covering primarily Latin American issues for The Epoch Times.
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