Valley fever is a growing risk in Central California; few visitors ever get a warning
Briefly

Nora Bruhn, an attendee at the Lightning in a Bottle festival, revealed her shock at contracting valley fever, stating, "If there had been a warning that there's a potentially lethal fungal entity in the soil, there's no way I would have gone." This highlights the importance of informing festival-goers about regional health risks before attending such events.
The increase in valley fever cases and its rising drug resistance has alarmed health experts, who believe this resistance is aggravated by antifungal spraying on crops. This resistance raises concerns around managing the disease effectively, indicating a pressing need for broader awareness and understanding of valley fever's implications.
Local health officials emphasize the necessity of raising awareness about valley fever, acknowledging that the existing information rarely reaches individuals outside high-risk areas like Kern County, limiting overall public awareness of the disease. This gap reveals a critical oversight in public health communication and event planning.
The dramatic rise in valley fever incidence over the past two decades has prompted health officers to call for increased public awareness about the disease, as many cases are misdiagnosed. However, efforts to reach those outside high-risk areas lag, underscoring the need for innovative communication strategies.
Read at Los Angeles Times
[
|
]