SALT LAKE CITY — A team of researchers at the University of Utah is studying a fungal respiratory infection believed to be spreading through Utah’s soil and dust.
Researchers still don’t know exactly where Valley fever is occurring in the state, but epidemiology professor Katherine Walter said the bacteria could become more prevalent as the climate changes. He said there is.
A multidisciplinary team of researchers, including Walter, is trying to map where the fungus that causes the disease can survive and spread. The researchers received a $375,000 Climate and Health Interdisciplinary Award through the Burroughs Wellcome Fund to help fund fungi exploration and raise awareness for people at risk of infection.
Valley fever is difficult to track because the fungus that causes it is not transmitted from person to person. It grows secretly in the soil, but never comes to the surface. Symptoms of the disease are similar to those seen with the flu and include fatigue, cough, fever, shortness of breath, headache, night sweats, muscle and joint pain, and a rash on the upper body and legs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. . Prevention.
In 2019, the CDC reported just over 20,000 confirmed cases, with very few in New Mexico and Utah.
“When most people think of fungi, they think of something you can see, like mold or mushrooms,” says Katrina Derrig. She is the vertebrate collection manager at the Utah Museum of Natural History and a member of Walter’s research team.
“However, this is not a fungus without visible fruiting bodies. It can only be identified under a microscope, so it is very difficult to identify it in the field,” Derrig says.
Because Valley fever is so little known, it is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, potentially delaying necessary antifungal treatment for those infected.
According to a release from universityTen archaeologists working at an excavation site in northeastern Utah contracted Valley fever in 2001. Valley fever typically occurs in hotter, drier states, and previous predictions determined the fungus could not survive in soil except in the southwest corner of Utah. A state hundreds of miles from where the archaeologists were.
“Here in the American West, we’ve been experiencing some incredibly drastic temperature changes, precipitation, and drought recently, all of which are impacting the range in which fungi can exist,” Walter said.
Walter and Derrig, along with University of Utah biology professor Eric Rickert and atmospheric science professor Kevin Perry, are collecting soil and dust samples from various climate zones across the state. The samples will be tested for fungal DNA, and the area will also be examined for signs of the fungus from underground burrowing rodents, as rodents are suspected of being involved in transporting the fungus.
The team is focusing specifically on Washington County and St. George, as these are the areas with the highest reported prevalence of Valley fever. The university said the rapid construction of the growing metropolitan area is raising dust that may contain spores in previously undisturbed areas of the Mojave Desert.
“Researchers believe cases of the disease could surge if others consider future housing developments,” the university said.
Washington County’s dramatic landscape and topography includes a variety of microclimates that act as stand-ins for the diverse climates throughout the state. With just samples taken from within the county, scientists can get a relatively accurate picture of where the fungus is growing across the state.
Researchers hope to combine that information with predictions of how the climate will change over time to understand which regions are at risk now and in the future.
“A key element of this project is to inform the public about what is in their communities, what signs to look out for, and how they can prevent it,” Perry said. Told.
Wearing a dust mask on dry, windy days can reduce the risk from airborne spores for people in areas where the fungus is prevalent. A doctor who knows the signs and symptoms of valley fever can detect the disease early and provide appropriate treatment.
“People who work outdoors in construction, agriculture, firefighting, etc. are at extremely high risk of infection and illness because they can get sick by inhaling fungal spores that are present in the soil,” Walter said. “Valley fever is increasingly a health justice and environmental justice issue.”
Walter added that Valley fever is not the only disease that will change with climate change.
“This is just one example of an infectious disease that will be, and is already, dramatically affected by climate change. There are many others. And the consistent theme is always that the most vulnerable “There are certain populations that are at the highest risk. The urgency of this infection really cannot be overstated,” Walter said. “Valley fever is just one element of this storm we are all living through.”
