Cases of Fungal Infection on the Rise in California

3 comments by Oskar Thorvaldsson

A recent outbreak of valley fever is being investigated by the Califronia Department of Public Health related to a Kern County music festival. A total of 20,000 people went to the festival, and possibly thousands of attendees may have been explosed. The several confirmed cases are severe, requiring medical attention and surgery in some caes.  

What is Valley Fever?

Valley Fever is a fungal infection known as Coccidiodomycosis, that starts in the lungs when toxic mold spores from C. immitis and C. posadasii are inhaled. These organisms like the desert soil and can become airborne and are most common in California's San Joaquin Valley, and the Arizona desert. Seemingly out of nowhere, cases have tripled between 2014 and 2017, and are estimated to cost an estimate $700 milllion in losses (1). 

It can take a week or more to induce symptoms, and can even require hospitalization due to its potentially lethal complications. Once inhaled, the spores can turn into a parasitic phases that produces multiplying endospores which infect the lungs and can spread to other organs. The main symptoms are:

Symptoms:

  • fever
  • body ahces
  • cough 
  • severe fatigue

With over 5,000 cases confirmed, the CDHP anticipates an additional 7,000 to 9,000 cases of Valley Fever this year.

Top antifungal agents in CAM guidebooks are:

  • garlic,
  • turmeric,
  • tea tree oil,
  • neem,
  • oregano,
  • clove,
  • eucalyptus,
  • thyme, and
  • aloe vera. (2). 

 Our Offerings:

Fungal Fighter

Candida Protocol

Dr. Clark Store Quick Digestive Protocol

 

Sources

1. Wilson, L., Ting, J., Lin, H., Shah, R., MacLean, M., Peterson, M. W., ... & Brown, P. (2019). The rise of valley fever: prevalence and cost burden of coccidioidomycosis infection in California. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(7), 1113.
2. Patil, A., Desai, T., & Tirgar, P. (2024). Eye Bird View on Natural Plants in the Management of Mucormycosis. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research, 506-516.

3 comments


  • Moderator (Nelson)

    Upon further review, the Cochrane Collaboration seems to have been corrupted. Many of their reviews seem inaccurate, and the organization shifted towards scientific censorship in 2011 according to a former director, Peter Gøtzsche MD.


  • Nelson

    CAM stands for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. There are guides online that let you search according to active compound, area of medicine, etc., like this free one: https://cam.cochrane.org/cochrane-reviews-related-complementary-medicine


  • What Is CAM

    What is CAM


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