The Last Of Us wasn’t too far off reality when it suggested that climate change could make fungi a bigger threat to humanity, and a perfect example of this is currently spreading in parts of the US. Coccidioides is one of a small number of fungi known to infect humans, and its range is expanding with the warming climate.
Valley Fever is caused by the inhalation of Coccidioides, which are native to parts of California and the southwestern US where it grows in the soil and dirt. It’s easily inhaled if you go walking in the wrong place as its microscopic spores get kicked up into the air, but for a lot of people the symptoms of the subsequent Valley Fever, sometimes called cocci, will be mild.
Valley Fever isn’t always mild, however, and for some infected people, it can develop into severe disease.
“Approximately 5 to 10 percent of people who get Valley fever will develop serious or long-term problems in their lungs,” explained the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “In an even smaller percent of people (about 1 percent), the infection spreads from the lungs to other parts of the body, such as the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), skin, or bones and joints.”
Valley Fever can be fatal, particularly in cases that lead to meningitis, and even in cases where people recover, they can require lifelong antifungal treatment. While the bad cases are presently rare, it figures that you can expect to see more of them if Coccidioides become more widespread in the environment.
Unfortunately, that’s precisely what we’ve been seeing in recent years.
“Although Coccidioides species have classically been recognized as endemic to the southwestern United States, isolates have been found far outside this area and recent investigations have demonstrated a growing endemic zone,” wrote Z Parker et al., 2022.
“Ecological and outbreak data supports the conclusion that these findings result from a growing endemic range that is estimated to be as far east as Texas and as far north as Washington State. Investigations point to climate change as the underlying cause primarily via regional climate changes and large dust storms.”
The trend means that Valley Fever needs to be considered more broadly across the US than previously thought, as rapid diagnosis and treatment are crucial for people vulnerable to severe disease. The authors state that current climate model predictions support an expected increase in Coccidioides infections, demonstrating that The Last Of Us holds some water when it comes to the threat of fungi on a warming planet.
[H/T: Vox]
Source Link: Few Fungi Can Infect Humans, But One Of Them Is Expanding