From: bhjelle@carina.unm.edu ()
Subject: Re: Fungus "epidemic" in CA?
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
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NNTP-Posting-Host: carina.unm.edu

In article <19435@pitt.UUCP> geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks) writes:
>>In article steward@cup.portal.com (John Joseph Deltuvia) writes:
>>
>>>There was a story a few weeks ago on a network news show about some sort
>>>of fungus which supposedly attacks the bone structure and is somewhat
>>>widespread in California.  Anybody hear anything about this one?
>>
>
>The only fungus I know of from California is Coccidiomycosis.  I
>hadn't heard that it attacked bone.  It attacks lung and if you
>are especially unlucky, the central nervous system.  Nothing new
>about it.  It's been around for years.  THey call it "valley
>fever", since it is found in the inland valleys, not on the coast.

There is a mini-epidemic of Coccidiodes that is occurring in,
I believe, the Owen's Valley/ Bishop area east of the Sierras.
I don't believe there has been any great insight into the
increased incidence in that area. There is a low-level
of endemic infection in that region. Many people with
evidence of past exposure to the organism did not have
serious disease.

Brian
>


