Newsletter/Media - Arizona Victims of Valley Fever

http://ktar.com/22/1625498/Doctor-1-in-30-Phoenicians-could-contract-Valley-fever

https://www.vfce.arizona.edu/resources/inthenews/Valley%20Fever%20in%20Arizona-Strong-winds-kicking-up-more-than-dust.pdf

http://azstarnet.com/news/science/health-med-fit/ua-led-effort-seeks-valley-fever-diagnoses/article_79e015ee-0fe9-5389-ba71-f2eb2f831365.html

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/09/08/2523531/valley-fever-infection-has-harmed.html

http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2012/08/dust-storms-have-medical-group-highlighting-valley-fever-threat/

http://kdvr.com/2012/06/20/wounded-warriors-pedal-through-colorado-mountains-on-coast-to-coast-journey/ http://www.tracypress.com/view/full_story/18991014/article-Health-officials-peg-Tracy-as-valley-fever-hotspot?instance=home_news_lead_story

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/sports/baseball/slumps-of-conor-jackson-and-ike-davis-have-some-parallels.html?smid=pl-share

California's prison building boom overlooked some deadly environmental hazards. When the soil is stirred up at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Central California, prisoners inhale valley fever spores that have killed many. - Photo: Heidi Schumann, New York Times

NEWSLETTERS

May/June 2011

first_avvf_newsletter.pdf
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new_avvf_newsletter_jul-aug_2011.pdf
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new_avvf_newsletter_sep-oct_2011-revised.pdf
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2011_nov-dec.pdf
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Articles
Arizona Republic, May 24, 2011

ariz_republic_may_24_editorial.pdf
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Arizona Republic, Oct. 29, 2010

az_republic_oct_29_editiorial.pdf
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Arizona Republic, Oct. 19, 2011

vfazrepublicedit2011.pdf
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http://bigmedicine.ca/wordpress/2011/11/new-mexico-doh-releases-results-of-survey-of-nm-clinicians-knowledge-of-valley-fever-diagnosis-and-treatment/

coccidioidomycosis_-_chapter_3_-_2012_yellow_book_-_travelers_health_-_cdc.pdf
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West Valley News, July 2011 Dust Storm Stirs Up More Health Concerns

dust_storm_stirs_up_more_health_concerns_-_your_west_valley_news__suncitywest.pdf
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high_cost_of_valley_fever_to_arizonas_employers.pdf
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summary_of_dog_nikz_study.pdf
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why_valley_fever_research_needs_our_help.pdf
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_KPHO Phoenix, Oct. 2011

explanatory_story-vf_story_by_farrah_wade-asu_student.docx
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feds_study_arizona.docx
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valley_fever_pioneer_still_searching_for.docx
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Pawprints Magazine, July 2011 Cocci: It's As Bad As It Sounds,

222s_as_bad_as_it_sounds___paw_prints_the_magazine.pdf
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Coccidiomycosis in the United States, CDC, July 2011

harris.pdf
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Valley Fever Cases on Rise, Arizona Humane Society, Oct. 2011

valley_fever_cases_on_rise.pdf
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cocciandfourcornersbrief90111.pdf
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print_-_dusty_moorpark_college_overflow_parking_lot_draws_complaints___ventura_county_star.pdf
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Editorials

only_in_arizona_article.docx
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how_much_is_enough.docx
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look_who_is_calling_the_kettle_black_with_logo.docx
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surprise-speedworld_races.docx
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editorial_regarding_senator_harper_dist_41_with_new_avvf_logo.doc
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http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/valley-fever-rise_2011-11-04

http://www.gvnews.com/news/ua-valley-fever-experts-lay-out-the-basics/article_8a443438-0b31-11e1-8ff5-001cc4c03286.html?

Valley Fever Often Misdiagnosed Outside of Arizona (Yourwestvalley.com, 2-7-11

GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — Valley Fever is not only often misunderstood, it's also misdiagnosed — especially outside Arizona.

A study by the Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the University of Arizona shows that two-thirds of patients with Valley Fever had it misdiagnosed in Arizona, where two-thirds of all infections in the United States occur. Outside the state, it gets worse.

"I suspect that almost everyone ... has heard of Valley Fever," said Dr. John Galgiani, the center's director. "It's a familiar disease in Arizona, but if I asked that same question to my class of medical students in Chicago, the results would be exactly the opposite. They would probably not be familiar with the term."

According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control in 2006, one in three Arizona patients diagnosed with pneumonia and treated with antibiotics may be misdiagnosed and treated with the wrong drugs. The federal report said the patients may have had a valley fever, a fungal pneumonia, although most of the patients were managed as if they had a bacterial infection with antibiotics.

Valley Fever is caused by a fungus and would not be helped by drugs directed at bacteria, according to the Arizona center's study.

Green Valley resident Ron Brill said he began experiencing Valley Fever symptoms in 2006 when he and his wife were cruising Europe.

"I started getting pains in an area at the top of my lungs which I was certain couldn't be a heart attack," Brill recalled. "I eventually was hospitalized in Austria where they have no idea about Valley Fever."

Arriving back in the U.S., Brill and his wife extended their vacation and visited their daughter in Boston.

"There I started having severe chills and uncontrollable shaking," he said. "My daughter had to get me to the emergency room in Boston, and still they had no idea what it was."

Brill returned to Arizona and was eventually diagnosed with Valley Fever, but his visual diagnosis until he was tested for the illness was pneumonia.

"I had most of the major risk factors for Valley Fever, but went through weeks of feeling ill before that was diagnosed," he said. "Had I known what to look for as far as the risk factors are concerned, I would have asked much earlier to be tested for Valley Fever."

Valley Fever causes about 50,000 new illnesses each year, more than half of them occurring in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties.

"We refer to that area as the 'Valley Fever Corridor,'" Galgiani said.

Symptoms of valley fever include fever, respiratory distress with coughing, chest pain and shortness of breath. Other common symptoms include muscle and joint aches, a skin rash, weight loss and lack of appetite and intense fatigue.

"Once you are aware of Valley Fever and know the symptoms, you can be better prepared to talk to your physician about those that you many have," Galgiani said. "Arizona doesn't have to be scary place to live or visit and I would like the Arizona Department of Tourism to get on board publicizing this disease. The more you know, the better off you are."

Most people with Valley Fever get through it with no treatment and probably will have lifelong immunity from the illness Galgiani said.

The center's study notes that among those who have never had Valley Fever, the chance of infection is about 3 percent per year, but the longer one resides in an endemic area, the greater the risk.

Galgiani said Valley Fever is considered an "orphan disease" because at any one time fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. are ill from this infection.

Editorial,Arizona Republic, Oct 2011 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2011/10/22/20111022satlets221.html
Sunshine Coast Daily, Oct. 2011

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2011/10/20/coast-community-rallies-behind-battling-duggan-fam/