Valley fever, also known as Coccidioidomycosis, is a lung infection that occurs from breathing in the spores of the Coccidioides fungus.
Dogs who like to dig into the soil are “more at risk of getting the disease,” per Sierra Sun Times.
Among recorded valley fever cases in animals, though, dogs constitute the majority, according to the University of Arizona.
The study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, is one of the largest scientific reviews on animal data for valley fever.
Reducing national risk for valley fever includes increased awareness of the disease and hypervigilance in high-risk states.
Aside from being man’s best friend, dogs may also help people understand valley fever, a fungus that affects both humans and dogs’ respiratory systems in the Western United States.
Inhaling the spores of the fungus Coccidioides causes valley fever, also called Coccidioidomycosis, a lung infection.
In line with the U. A. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fungus thrives in moist soil environments that are typical of Central and South America, the Western United States, and portions of Mexico. The fungus spores can become airborne when soil containing them is dug up, and they can then infect the respiratory system.
The Sierra Sun Times states that dogs who enjoy digging in the ground are “more at risk of getting the disease.”. It has been discovered that the disease can also infect humans and other mammals, such as apes, monkeys, horses, llamas, and alpacas.
However, the majority of animal cases of valley fever that have been reported involve dogs, according to the University of Arizona.
Using data trends to extrapolate disease risk in humans, a team of researchers from the University of California, Davis examined how the disease presents in American dog populations.
Watch now: New York City is being overrun by giant snails?
One of the biggest scientific reviews of animal data on valley fever was published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
834,899 dogs’ blood test results from diagnostic labs that performed animal blood tests for valley fever over a ten-year span, from 2012 to 2022, were examined.
The scientists were able to map the locations of positive valley fever cases using this data: Arizona accounted for 91.5% of cases, California for 30.7 percent, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas for 20.6 percent, and Washington, Oregon, and Idaho for 0.6%. 1–3% of positive cases were from the remaining states in the nation.
The lead author of the UC Davis study, Jane Sykes, told Sierra Sun Times that she had seen positive cases in states where the disease has not yet spread. “We should be closely watching those states because there could be under-recognition of the emerging fungal disease in humans,” she said. “..”.
While each person may experience the disease differently, severe cases can result in long-term lung issues. Symptoms include fatigue, coughing, shortness of breath, rashes, and pain in the muscles or joints.
The Sierra Sun Times reported that Sykes stated, “Dogs are sentinels for human infections.”.
According to a study shared by Science Direct in the journal Environmental International, drought conditions may make valley fever worse by creating dry soil that can be carried by strong winds and spread throughout the land. Then, the fungal spore particles are released into the air, where they could endanger the health of people and dogs who happen to breathe them in.
According to UC San Diego, intense, heavy rainfall also fosters the growth of fungal spores, which usually results in larger spikes in positive cases when the rain returns.
Researchers have discovered that soil moisture levels have been declining for decades all over the world. In addition to soil drying, more than 130 U. S. . Since 1970, the intensity of the hourly rainfall has increased in some places, resulting in high-risk flood zones.
Raising awareness of the illness and implementing hypervigilance in high-risk states are two ways to lower the national risk of valley fever. As this study has shown, studying dogs may help people better prevent and fight the illness.
Acting to safeguard the environment from increasing global temperatures and the resulting climate change may help lessen the occurrence of extreme weather events that raise the risk of disease, like droughts and flooding.
