Feds study Arizona's valley-fever epidemic

[Guest guest]

Feds study Arizona's valley-fever epidemic

State has 60% of all U.S. cases; NW Valley especially hard hit

32 commentsby Cecilia Chan - Jan. 19, 2009 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/01/19/20

090119fever0119.html

Federal health officials are researching why Arizona - particularly

the northwest Valley - has the highest numbers of valley-fever cases

in the country.

" We in Arizona . . . have 60 percent of all the reported valley-

fever cases in the U.S., " said Dr. Sunenshine, deputy

epidemiologist for the state Department of Health Services.

Sunenshine said that reports have reached an epidemic level and that

officials think those cases represent only 8 to 10 percent of the

infections that occur.

To help find out why, the state sought help from the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, based in Atlanta.

A team of three epidemiologists and a veterinary student from the

center visited the Valley in November, collecting laboratory and

hospital data and leftover blood from a blood bank and a commercial

laboratory for testing, Sunenshine said.

The CDC study is expected to take at least six months to test the

more than 1,500 blood samples.

Valley fever, or coccidioidomycosis, is a respiratory disease whose

symptoms include fever, chest pain and coughing. It can be fatal,

especially for those with a compromised immune system.

The fungus that causes valley fever grows in the top layer of soil

in desert regions and becomes airborne when the earth is disturbed

by digging or dust storms.

Valley fever infections tend to peak after the rainy and windy

monsoon season.

Cases of the fungal infection are highest in Sun City, Sun City West

and Surprise, according to a Maricopa County health study report

released in October.

The Sun Cities showed 370 cases per 100,000 people and Surprise

showed 327 cases per 100,000 people for 2006, much higher than the

193 cases per 100,000 people reported in 2005.

The East Valley has not been untouched. In 2006, the rate in

sdale was 142 cases per 100,000 people.

A total of 4,832 valley-fever cases, which included 36 deaths from

the disease, were reported for all of Arizona in 2007.

That represents far less than the 30,000 cases estimated to occur

each year in the state, according to health officials.

Visitors to Arizona are also catching valley fever.

Janice Tye, 52, of Canada, was diagnosed with the disease after

visiting Sun City West, where her parents have a second home.

Although she has never experienced any symptoms from valley fever -

60 percent of victims experience mild or no symptoms - Tye said it's

always in the back of her mind that the disease could flare up.

Sun City West resident Pat White, 63, who has been battling valley

fever for more than two years, calls it Arizona's " local secret. "

" Anyone who comes here - man, woman or child and any form of animal -

can get this disease, " said White, who has formed a support group

and lectures on valley fever.

" Once you inhale the fungus, it becomes a parasite and you become

the host. "

State studies show the highest rates of valley fever are in the 65-

84 age group.

However, even after adjusting for age, the retirement communities of

Sun City and Sun City West still have the highest rates in the state.

Sunenshine said the CDC study will help determine if the apparent

rise in valley fever is real or whether it is the result of the way

northwest Valley doctors and laboratories report the disease and how

often people see a physician.