An Incurable Disease Is On The Rise In California, And Scientists Say Climate Change Could Cause It To Spread To Much Of The Western US

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A fungus that thrives in dry soil and warm weather has caused a record number of infections in California. Experts fear climate change will cause it to spread across the western US. Valley fever, a fungal disease that infects an estimated 150,000 people in the US each year and has been on the rise in California. Valley fever, also called coccidioidomycosis, is caused by a fungus commonly found in hot and dry regions of the southwestern US, particularly California and Arizona. People can become infected by breathing in microscopic fungal spores made airborne by wind, construction, and other soil-disturbing activities. The Golden State saw 7,466 cases of the disease last year — the highest number reported since it started tracking valley fever in 1995.

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