Spores, Dust and Valley Fever.
Abstract
In California, most of the old-time pioneers and many of their children and grand-children recount episodes of a disease once referred to as soil-breaking fever . They recall that one to four weeks after a severe dust storm, or after plowing the sun baked soil, illness sometimes occurred and victims suffered a prolonged flu-like episode. Occasionally, deep seated disease or death terminated this unhappy respiratory experience with San Joaquin Valley Dust. The immigrants recognized that the illness was one that did not occur in their former abodes. They coined the terms Valley Fever and San Joaquin Valley Fever to describe it; the lexicon also included Desert Rheumatism and Desert Fever. Ecologic studies have not determined clearly the reason for the preference that Coccidioides immitis has for the San Joaquin Valley, the Southwest of the United States and specific locations in Mexico, Central America and South America. The fungus resides only in soils of the New World and its failure to spread beyond its well defined boundaries is a mystery. Keywords: Valley Fever, Dust, Spores, Flu-like episodes, Coccidioides immitis; Fungus diseases; Reprints.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA184236
Entities
People
- Hillel B. Levine
Organizations
- University of California