This story was originally appeared in grist is part of climate desk collaboration.
Last week, a long strip of Earth’s atmosphere became funnel-shaped. trillions of gallons of water It traveled east from the Pacific tropics and was unleashed on California. This meteorological phenomenon, known as the atmospheric river, broke the record for rainfall,got thrown away over 1 foot of rain Power outages in parts of the state 800,000 inhabitants. at least 9 people dead Some died in car accidents, some died in falling trees. But it could be months before the storm’s health effects are fully felt.
Flooding caused by intensifying winter storms in California is fueling the spread of a deadly fungal disease called coccidioid mycosis, or Valley fever. “Hydroclimatic whiplash is seeing increasingly large fluctuations between extremely wet and extremely dry conditions,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Humans are finding it difficult to adapt to this new pattern. But the fungi are thriving, Swain said. Valley fever is “going to become a bigger and bigger story,” he added.
Valley fever cases in California broke records last year after 9 p.m. atmospheric rivers back to back It struck the state, causing widespread and record flooding. Last month, the California Department of Public Health released the following report: Advice for healthcare providers The ministry announced that 9,280 new cases of Valley fever with onset date were recorded in 2023, the highest number ever recorded by the ministry. In a statement provided to Grist, the California Department of Public Health said last year’s weather and disease patterns indicate the potential for “an increased risk of Valley fever in California in 2024.”
“When you look at the numbers, it’s surprising,” said Shanxin Yang, a clinical microbiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “About 15 years ago, we only saw one or two cases a month in our lab. Now we’re seeing two or three cases a week.”
Valley fever (named after California’s San Joaquin Valley, where the disease was discovered in farm workers in the late 1800s) is caused by spores of a fungus called . Coccidioides. Inhalation of the spores can cause serious illness in humans and some animal species such as dogs. This fungus is particularly sensitive to extreme climates. Coccidioides It cannot grow in areas of the United States that receive year-round rain, nor can it tolerate sustained drought.
