Stirred-up dust carries valley fever

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Stirred-up dust carries valley fever

Casa Grande Valley Newspapers - Casa Grande,AZ

By LINDSEY GEMME, Staff Writer June 02, 2006

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?

newsid=16730616 & BRD=1817 & PAG=461 & dept_id=68561 & rfi=6

Pets, and their owners, are at risk from disease

MARICOPA - It could be just a cough or it could be something much

worse.

Coccidioides immitis causes valley fever, a fungal disease that

starts in the lungs and affects both humans and their defenseless

pets when the spores are inhaled from the air. In fact, according to

Maricopa veterinarian Dr. Villalba, " anything with lungs " can

be affected: zoo animals, and even desert wildlife like snakes, have

been known to contract valley fever.

" The lungs are the gateway, " Villalba said.

The fungus, like yeast or mildew, grows in the topsoil of areas with

low rainfall, temperate climates with relatively alkaline soil like

most of Arizona, parts of New Mexico, Texas, California, northern

Mexico and some areas in South America. The spores can become

airborne when disturbed by wind, rain or farming activity, and

especially construction. From there, the spores get into the lungs

and continue to grow, creating cysts or microscopic " spherules, " all

of which eventually burst and release more would-be spores and the

process begins again.

Symptoms usually begin to surface about three weeks after the onset

of the infection. Often the only symptom people pick up on is a

persistent cough, or flu-like symptoms. Around 60 percent of people

infected have little to no symptoms at all. Sometimes the infection

stays within the confines of the lungs and eventually clears up by

itself, and then, sometimes - it spreads.

This disseminated form (which can spread to the bones, skin and

perhaps eventually the brain) is more common in pets such as dogs

and cats than in humans, though it does happen for both.

" Only a very tiny percentage of people, maybe one or two percent,

get a more serious disease, " Diane , a member of the Pinal

County Public Health Department, said. " When you hear about it for

people's dogs, it's much more serious for dogs. They wind up at

their vet and they go on all these medications. But for people,

generally, it's not a super-serious thing. Just once in a while.

Typically it goes away by itself. Two-thirds of people don't even

know they get it. "

Though labeled a " disease, " one that has yet to have an immunization

created to prevent it, valley fever is not contagious and can't

spread from one species to another, nor from one member of a species

to another. Newspapers recently have been headlining that more and

more cases are being reported, but said that the fungal disease

is not reaching a danger level.

" Yes, it's been on the rise and there are different reasons for

that, " explained. " Part of the reason is awareness. If you look

for it and you test for it, you find it. We have a lot of people

that come here that are immune. And so they are insusceptible to

getting it. And we have a lot of construction here. Since it's found

in the dust, especially the upper layers, dust control is important.

And we also have monsoons that are very dusty. So, we are always

reporting increasing numbers. "

For dogs, Villalba said that trends where valley fever cases rise

and drop off have become blurred over the last few years.

" I was really surprised to see that out here, there are so many

cases because your typical valley fever season's after the

monsoons, " Villalba said. " Because with the monsoons, you get the

rain which kind of activates the organism and it really kicks up the

dust and everybody breathes it in. And now you see valley fever

cases all the time. For a while we were diagnosing one to two cases

a week, and I'm sure there are dogs out there that aren't coming in

that are infected, too. "

In the U.S. it is estimated that 50,000 to 100,000 people develop

the infection each year, with 35,000 cases in California alone. In

2002, there were over 3,000 cases reported in Arizona, with the

largest percentages of reported cases coming out of Maricopa (59.4

percent per 1,000 residents, or 2,019 cases), Pima (49.3 percent)

and Pinal (49.1, or 99 cases reported) counties. Blood tests from

residents in Maricopa County have indicated that about a third of

the entire county population at one time or another had the disease.

Humans can develop flu-like symptoms like a cough, aching joints,

chills and sweats, loss of appetite and fatigue, and perhaps skin

rashes. Farmers, construction workers and archeologists are at the

greatest risk. New homeowners are encouraged to complete their

landscaping as soon as possible so that dust will not be as apt to

blow around, and that pets will not be so blatantly exposed to the

spores hiding in the top layer.

Dogs often develop a strong bronchial-type cough that could be

mistaken for kennel cough, higher body temperature, listlessness or

loss of appetite. In the disseminated form, bones are often the next

affected area, which can show up with the swelling of joints, limb

lameness, uncoordination or a small limp - though signs of bone

infections can take months to show. Draining skin abscesses and

seizures are possible but much less common, Villalba said.

Treatment is varied depending on the severity of the infection.

Since it is a fungal infection, doctors do not use antibiotics.

Previously veterinarians prescribed ketoconazole (also known as

Nizoral), an expensive antifungal medicine that would affect dogs'

livers and give them stomach upset. But Villalba prefers a newer

antifungal called fluconazole (or Diflucan), as it is much less

expensive than ketoconazole and has fewer side effects. It is also

available in a generic, compounded form.

" It's much, much more reasonable, " Villalba said, " so the diagnosis

of valley fever is definitely not anything to strike fear in your

heart, cost-wise. The new medication also has much fewer incidents

of side effects. The most common one is gastrointestinal upset, and

then you have a dog who doesn't want to eat. A new diagnosis for

valley fever can be very frustrating and very tough for a couple

weeks until the medication starts to kick in a little bit, the dog

starts feeling a little better. In some cases we have to hand feed,

you have to get fluids under the skin to keep hydration. And there's

some dogs that just don't skip a beat, they just do fine. "

If you feel you have been experiencing symptoms of valley fever,

consult your doctor.

©Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2006