Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) News This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Kenya:Kenya Must Wake Up to the Threat of an Outbreak of Rift Valley Fever
[The Conversation Africa] Heavy rainfall in Kenya has left a trail of destruction in parts of the country, leading to deaths and rendering roads impassable. Some rivers have burst their banks and dams have overflown for the first time in many years. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - June 3, 2018 Category: African Health Source Type: news

Surveillance of livestock could detect rift valley fever disease before human transmission
(PLOS) Occurrence of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) has often been linked with El Ni ñ o rainfall. To curb future outbreaks of RVF, M. Kariuki Njenga and colleagues carried out enhanced syndromic surveillance of 22 high-risk RVF Kenyan counties to collect data on RVF-associated syndromes and risk factors in livestock from November 2015 through February 2016. Their research, recently published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, could provide the first step toward establishing a national syndromic surveillance system for livestock in Kenya. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - April 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Disappearing act
(University of California - Santa Barbara) The Asian tiger mosquito -- carrier of such diseases as dengue, yellow fever, Rift Valley fever, Chikungunya and Zika -- appears to have vanished from Palmyra. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - February 28, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Rift Valley fever – Gambia
On 3 January 2018, the Ministry of Health (MoH), Senegal notified WHO of a case of Rift Valley fever, a 52-year-old Korean man who was a resident of Gambia. The case was reported from a hospital in Dakar. (Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks)
Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks - February 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: news Source Type: news

Uganda:Govt Confirms Presence of Haemorrhagic Fevers
[East African] After initial denials, officials from Uganda's Ministry of Health have confirmed the twin outbreak of Crimean-Congo fever and Rift Valley Fever in cattle corridor districts, and announced stronger control measures. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - January 31, 2018 Category: African Health Source Type: news

UA experts: Valley fever cases see major spike in November
(University of Arizona Health Sciences) An uptick in reported cases of Valley fever indicates a likely sharp increase in infections next year. At the same time, federal clearance for a rapid assay test developed with assistance from the University of Arizona should help reduce delays in diagnosing the respiratory fungal disease caused by spores found in area soils. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - December 14, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

DxNA receives OK for Coccidioides test; only FDA cleared molecular test for Valley Fever
(The Translational Genomics Research Institute) The GeneSTAT.MDx Coccidioides test on the GeneSTAT System is intended to provide a definitive diagnosis for both Coccidioides strains that cause Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever). The DxNA test significantly improves the time to results over current diagnostic methods. The cleared test provides for the availability of molecular testing for the disease at clinical laboratories and healthcare facilities where patients with the disease are primarily seen rather than requiring specimens to be sent to reference laboratories. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - December 6, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

In California, an unexplained increase in valley fever this year
This year is shaping up to be the worst on record in California for people infected with valley fever, a lung infection caused by a fungus found in soil.State health officials announced earlier that 2016 broke the record for the most valley fever cases reported since the state started keeping... (Source: L.A. Times - Health)
Source: L.A. Times - Health - November 14, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Soumya Karlamangla Source Type: news

In California, an unexplained increase in valley fever this year
State health officials announced earlier this year that 2016 broke the record for the most valley fever cases reported since the state started keeping count in 1995. Now 2017 is on pace to have even more infections. (Source: L.A. Times - Health)
Source: L.A. Times - Health - November 14, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Soumya Karlamangla Source Type: news

Rift Valley fever virus: An infection mechanism identified
(Institut Pasteur) Rift Valley fever virus is responsible for outbreaks in livestock in Africa and can also be fatal in humans. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS, working with the University of G ö ttingen, have characterized the mechanism used by the virus to insert one of its envelope proteins into the host cell membrane, thereby enabling it to infect the cell. Understanding these interactions should pave the way for the identification of new therapeutic strategies. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - November 9, 2017 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

A glycerophospholipid-specific pocket in the RVFV class II fusion protein drives target membrane insertion
The Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is transmitted by infected mosquitoes, causing severe disease in humans and livestock across Africa. We determined the x-ray structure of the RVFV class II fusion protein Gc in its postfusion form and in complex with a glycerophospholipid (GPL) bound in a conserved cavity next to the fusion loop. Site-directed mutagenesis and molecular dynamics simulations further revealed a built-in motif allowing en bloc insertion of the fusion loop into membranes, making few nonpolar side-chain interactions with the aliphatic moiety and multiple polar interactions with lipid head groups upon membrane r...
Source: ScienceNOW - November 2, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Guardado-Calvo, P., Atkovska, K., Jeffers, S. A., Grau, N., Backovic, M., Perez-Vargas, J., de Boer, S. M., Tortorici, M. A., Pehau-Arnaudet, G., Lepault, J., England, P., Rottier, P. J., Bosch, B. J., Hub, J. S., Rey, F. A. Tags: Biochemistry reports Source Type: news

The Changing Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Valley Fever
Coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as valley fever, is a disease caused by two species of fungi, Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii. Coccidioidomycosis is often self-limiting; however, in some patients, the disease can rapidly progress to a severe and potentially life-threatening illness. Proper diagnostics for coccidioidomycosis are important because acute disease can manifest as community-acquired pneumonia, and can be misdiagnosed as a viral or bacterial infection. Improper diagnosis can lead to unnecessary antibacterial therapy and may encourage extra-pulmonary proliferation of the fungus, which then requi...
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - October 7, 2017 Category: Microbiology Authors: Bridget M. Barker Source Type: news

NIH awards $4.8 million to UA Valley Fever Center for Excellence
(University of Arizona Health Sciences) The center will use the money to accelerate development of a Valley fever vaccine for dogs that one day may lead to a successful human vaccine. A California-based biotech company and Colorado State University have joined the center in the effort. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - August 24, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Coccidioidomycosis Cases on the Rise in California Coccidioidomycosis Cases on the Rise in California
Despite a trend downward in recent years, coccidiomycosis cases are on the rise in California, according to a recent report.Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines)
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines - August 11, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Infectious Diseases News Source Type: news

Notes from the Field: Increase in Coccidioidomycosis — California, 2016
(Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)
Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - August 10, 2017 Category: American Health Source Type: news