Several people have contracted valley fever following an outdoor music festival near Bakersfield, California, according to a statement from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis) is a lung infection caused by inhalation of a soil-borne fungus found in California and parts of the southwestern United States.
So far, five patients who attended the Lightning in a Bottle outdoor music festival have been diagnosed with the infection. Three of them have been hospitalized, the CDPH reported.
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More than 20,000 people attended the festival, which was held May 22-27 at Lake Buena Vista.
More cases could emerge among festival-goers, health officials said.
Several people have contracted valley fever following an outdoor music festival near Bakersfield, California (not pictured). (iStock)
For those who attended the festival or visited Kern County and are experiencing symptoms, CDPH recommends they seek medical attention and seek testing for the infection.
“Although the event occurred two months ago and mild cases of valley fever may have already resolved, other patients with longer or more severe illness may still be symptomatic or undiagnosed,” the CDPH said.
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Tom Langdon Hill, director of training at the CCHS Foundation in Tucson, Arizona, which offers free training on the medical needs of the homeless, said it is “desperately difficult” to predict when and where someone might be exposed to valley fever.
“However, the outbreak linked to the outdoor music festival, Lightning in a Bottle, occurred in an area already known as a Valley Fever hotspot, with 34 deaths recorded in 2022 alone,” Hill told Fox News Digital.
Symptoms typically include cough, fatigue, fever, difficulty breathing, and chest pain. They usually appear within one to three weeks after infection. (iStock)
“Although dust exposure may be the cause of this outbreak, a recently published study indicates that wildfires are another possible source of Valley Fever spread.”
Symptoms and transmission
Most people exposed to the fungus do not become ill, but about 40% will develop respiratory symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Symptoms typically include cough, fatigue, fever, difficulty breathing, and chest pain. They usually appear within one to three weeks after infection.
From 2018 to 2022, California recorded between 7,000 and 9,000 cases of Valley Fever each year.
About 5 to 10 percent of people with Valley fever will develop complications, which can include serious lung problems, the CDC said.
In about 1% of people, disseminated disease may occur, meaning the infection spreads to other parts of the body, such as the skin, joints, bones, or brain.
The infection is not transmitted from person to person or…
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