Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis)
Overview-
Coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever is a fungal infection caused by Coccidioides immitis spores. Mild cases of this condition are not common and treatment is not generally necessary. However, this disease is often misdiagnosed, due to the fact that you experience only mild or moderate symptoms, and these symptoms often takes 20 years to present. The most severe cases of Coccidioidomycosis causing the infection to spread to other parts of the body through the bloodstream, and people with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk.
-causa
The fungi that cause valley fever - Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides Posadas - thrive in arid soils of the south of the desert of Arizona, Nevada, northern
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In the soil, they grow as a mold with long filaments that break off into airborne spores when the soil is disturbed. The spores are extremely small, it can be transported hundreds of miles by the wind and are highly contagious. Once inside the lungs, the spores reproduce, perpetuating the cycle of the disease.
Sintomi-
Valley fever is the first form of coccidioidomycosis infection. This initial acute illness may become more severe disease, including chronic and disseminated coccidioidomycosis.
Acute coccidioidomycosis (valley fever)
The initial form, or acute coccidioidomycosis is often mild, with few, if you experience any signs and symptoms, which appear 1-3 weeks after exposure. They tend to resemble those of the flu, and can range from mild to severe:
• Temperature
• Cough
• Chest pain - ranging from a mild feeling of constriction to intense pressure resembling a heart
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Even when the symptoms are severe, the best therapy for otherwise healthy adults is often bed rest and fluids - the same approach used for colds and infections doctors carefully monitor people with valley fever. drugs- antifungals
If symptoms do not improve or get worse or if they are at increased risk of complications, the doctor may prescribe an antifungal medication such as fluconazole. Antifungal drugs are also used for people with chronic or disseminated disease.
In general, antifungal drugs fluconazole (Diflucan) or itraconazole (Sporanox, Onmel) are used for all but the most severe forms of the disease coccidioidomycosis.
All fungal infections can have serious side effects. However, these side effects usually go away once the medication is stopped. The most common side effects of fluconazole and itraconazole are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
More severe infection can be treated initially with an antifungal medication intravenously, as amphotericin B (Abelcet, Amphotec, other).
These drugs control the fungus, but sometimes you do not destroy, and relapses may occur. For most people, a single valley fever attack results in lifelong immunity, but the disease can be reactivated, or you can be reinfected if the immune system is weakened
More commonly known as Valley Fever, it is endemic to the dry soil of the San Joaquin Valley and to other parts of the American southwest. Infections are acquired by inhalation of spore-laden dust that affects the pulmonary system. It is usually not fatal if treated properly. Migrant workers and German POWs who worked in the fields in Kern, Tulare, and Kings Counties digging, hoeing, and picking potatoes, cotton, and cultivating other crops were susceptible to infection. The peak season for the disease was between July and August when the fields were their dustiest before the start of fall or winter
Found in Yukon, Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador. One of two types of bat found on P.E.I. Glossy brown fur and weigh between four and eleven grams. 4-5 cm long and a wingspan of 22-27 cm. Eat insects.
Coccidioidomycosis known as Valley Fever is an infection in your lungs, causing respiratory difficulties. It is a non-contagious infection. Valley Fever lives in soil, it can be spread into the air, most commonly found in people who are surrounded in construction or farming. It is found in part of the United States, California, Mexico and dry areas of the South and Central America. It is defined into two parts, parasitic life cycle when pre-existing fungal enlarge and transform into a sphere, then begin developing into endospores, and saprobic life cycle produces fungal infections, found in the environment.
Introduction In the book The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, Ebola is categorized as a filovirus. Filoviruses are becoming more and more common throughout the world and we do not know much about them. Most of these diseases are destructive and the victims normally do not survive. However, scientists must be confident that there is a cure for Ebola Viruses because their research has not yet ended.
The last one is the septicemia plague, it spreads through the bloodstream. It comes from infected fleas or infected
According to CDC (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention), “Valley Fever is not contagious. Valley Fever is caused by fungus that lives in the environment. Symptoms of Valley Fever are usually similar to the flu.” In the novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, valley fever is a crucial event. Valley fever affected people in the 1930s, was used throughout the novel, and was depicted correctly by the author.
Sydney Leanhart Dr. Wong Ecology 2 September 2016 Dear Governor, The Yosemite Plague is a disease which has been present in Central California for many years. This disease normally does not draw much attention or concern because the risk of a human catching it is very minimal. However, there has been a very large increase of cases where people have contracted this plague over the last two months.
With so many different symptoms, which require a different attack. The Ebola virus is complex, making it even harder to fight. Ebola has intense symptoms, High fatality rates and no cure. “In humans, certain Ebola viruses can cause fatality in 50 to 90 percent of cases” (“Ebola” 1). Ebola
This type of plague is the most infectious and the most deadly. The third and final plague is the septicemic plague. In this form, the bacteria multiplies in the blood, causing gangrene, which is blood clots in the fingers and toes, and shock. The plague has also been associated with meningitis, or swelling of the brain and spinal
The disease is spread through air (coughing, sneezing) or direct contact (skin-to-skin). Symptoms usually include a high fever, continuous sneezing and coughing, and inflamed eyes. These first round of symptoms usually appear one to two week after the disease is contracted. Once the mentioned symptoms develop, a rash emerges three to five days later. There is no treatment for measles, but over-the-counter medications can deaden the symptoms.
Smallpox is a highly contagious and fatal disease that had a huge impact on the human population. It is thought to have been originated from India or Egypt at least 3,000 years ago. Smallpox is caused by two variations of the variola virus, variola major and variola minor. Variola major is the most common form of smallpox. It enters the body through the lungs and is carried to the internal organs.
These agents will mutate and spread rapidly from city to city in a matter of days and global in a matter of months. The symptoms will depend on the concentrated areas of infection in each person and will be untreatable. People have their own hypothesis of how a strain is created. An outbreak will usually begin in a local community before becoming a pandemic. The infected areas would be stripped of all provisions in a matter of hours, including food and water.
Such illnesses include dysentery and smallpox. Many of my friends have met their fate at the hands of dysentery. Dysentery is an infection that causes diarrhea, with blood and mucus visible in the feces. Smallpox is a virus in which a person gets a severe fever with pustules. Here at Valley Forge, our surgeons and doctors have made smallpox less of a threat.
Have you ever heard of the famous “yellow fever” disease? If you were born right here in North America, you’ve probably never heard of it. Personally, in all my nineteen years I’ve only encountered the name a couple of times but never enough to care very much about it. This is because yellow fever primarily resides outside of North America, where there are harsh environments and extreme changes in social status. Places such as South America and Africa are frequently attacked by diseases, leaving people crippled from loss of strength and eventually even stealing their lives.
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by the Variola major virus, though a much milder form of the disease was also caused by the Variola minor virus. The disease spreads when healthy individuals inhale droplets of saliva from infected