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Tag: rare case

  • Valley fever strikes attendees of Kern County music festival

    Valley fever strikes attendees of Kern County music festival

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    California health officials are urging people who attended the Kern County music festival Lightning in a Bottle to seek medical care if they are experiencing respiratory symptoms or a fever.

    Authorities have identified five patients with valley fever who attended the six-day event, which was held May 22-27 at Buena Vista Lake, near Bakersfield. Three people have been hospitalized.

    More than 20,000 people attended the festival.

    One attendee, on a Reddit r/LightningInaBottle thread, said a festival companion had been hospitalized for two weeks with “severe” valley fever.

    “If you get unexplainable symptoms such as fever, chills, and headaches/neck pain,” the user wrote, “let the doctors know it could be valley fever, even though it’s been several months.”

    Valley fever is an infectious disease caused by the coccidioides fungus, which grows in the soil and dirt in some areas of California. It is most commonly found in the San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast of California.

    Health officials say that most people exposed to this fungus don’t end up developing the disease, but it can infect the lungs and cause respiratory symptoms in some people, including cough, difficulty breathing, fever and fatigue.

    In rare cases, the fungus can spread to other parts of the body and cause severe disease.

    Valley fever is not contagious. Past outbreaks have been linked to dust and dirt exposure at outdoor events and job sites where dirt is disturbed — in areas of the state where the fungus is common.

    Valley fever is on the rise in California, with particularly high numbers of cases reported in 2023 and 2024. The fungus appears to flourish in wet years.

    A 2022 study in the medical journal the Lancet concluded that multiyear cycles of dry conditions followed by wet winters increased transmission, especially in areas that were historically wetter. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and duration of drought throughout the Southwestern United States, potentially increasing the prevalence of valley fever spores and fungus.

    Kern County has the highest incidence rate in the state, and it accounts — on average — for about a third of the cases.

    State health officials say that people who have visited Kern County in recent months and are experiencing respiratory symptoms that have not improved or are lasting longer than a week should see a healthcare provider and ask about possible valley fever.

    They also urge people to mention attendance at the music festival or travel to Kern County.

    Attendees can visit the California Department of Public Health’s valley fever survey website for more information and to share details about any illness.

    Another Reddit user said they came down with the disease two weeks after returning from the festival to their home in Colorado.

    The music fan described a “terrible” cough, headache, body aches, fever and chills. The Reddit user is not sure they’d go again next year.

    “Don’t want to miss … but I also don’t want a fungal lung infection again. Yikes.”

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    Susanne Rust

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  • Mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus found in L.A. County

    Mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus found in L.A. County

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    Los Angeles County has detected mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus for the first time this year.

    The mosquitoes were recovered from a trap in the Winnetka neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley, the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District said Saturday.

    “While the presence of West Nile Virus in our community is not unusual, this early detection serves as a critical reminder for all residents to take preventative actions,” said Steve Vetrone, the director of scientific and technical services at the vector control district, in a prepared statement. “We urge everyone to protect themselves from mosquito bites and to eliminate standing water around their homes where mosquitoes can breed.”

    The main spreader of the West Nile virus in California is the culex mosquito, which becomes infected with the virus by feeding on the blood of infected birds. The disease is usually spread to humans through mosquito bites.

    About 20% of people infected with West Nile virus have symptoms, which can include fevers, headaches, body aches, nausea, skin rashes and fatigue. In rare cases, the infections can lead to serious brain and spinal cord inflammation. People who are 60 and older have a higher risk of complications.

    There is no human vaccine for West Nile virus. Public health officials say the best way to protect yourself is to wear insect repellent and long sleeves and pants in mosquito-infested areas.

    It also helps to eliminate standing water, where mosquitoes breed. Experts recommend emptying out any standing water in rain gutters, buckets, planters or any other area that can hold water for more than a week.

    Neglected swimming pools with green water can also be reported to the local vector control district for treatment.

    Experts have warned that California’s record-breaking rainfall could lead to a boom in the mosquito population and an increase in West Nile virus.

    There were 461 cases of West Nile in humans in California last year, and 19 were fatal, according to the California Mosquito-Borne Virus Surveillance and Response Program.

    The number of mosquitoes with West Nile virus in the Golden State rose about 78% between 2013 and 2023, the program said.

    California has reported 25 samples of mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus so far this year, up from five at the same time last year, according to the data. Of those 25, 18 were found in Riverside County.

    The state has also reported 17 dead birds carrying the virus, up from 14 at the same time last year.

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    Laura J. Nelson

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  • Rare case of mosquito-borne dengue diagnosed in Pasadena

    Rare case of mosquito-borne dengue diagnosed in Pasadena

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    A case of locally acquired dengue, a virus transmitted by mosquitoes, was detected in Pasadena on Friday, according to the Pasadena Public Health Department.

    The instance is “extremely rare,” officials said, with the afflicted person being the first known case in California among someone who had not recently traveled.

    Symptoms of dengue can range from mild to severe and include fever, skin rash, headaches and muscle and joint pain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Severe cases can be life-threatening and require critical care. Most cases resolve within two to seven days.

    In a statement, Pasadena epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Feaster said public health officials have been monitoring for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue.

    “Our work so far, in partnership with the Vector Control District, gives us confidence that this was likely an isolated incident and that there is very low risk of additional dengue exposure in Pasadena,” Feaster said.

    Public health officials presume the victim, who is unidentified and said to be recovering, probably caught the disease from a mosquito that had bitten someone already infected with dengue. Dengue is rare in the United States but endemic to other countries and can be transmitted by travelers to areas where dengue is found.

    In response to the case, public health officials have visited the neighborhood where the case was diagnosed to inform residents about preventing bites from Aedes aegypti, commonly known as the yellow fever mosquito, which transmits the disease and has seen a population boom in Southern California.

    The San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District has also deployed traps and test samples, though they have yet to identify any specimens carrying dengue. Tests will continue for the next few weeks, Pasadena officials said.

    Dengue has no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat the disease. Care for dengue cases includes rest, drinking fluids and closely monitoring symptoms.

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    Jeremy Childs

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