Coccidioidomycosis Cases at a Regional Referral Center, West Texas, USA, 2013–2019
Christopher Peterson, Victoria Chu, Jessica Lovelace, Mhd Hasan Almekdash, Mark Lacy
Abstract
C occidioides immitis and C. posadasii are soil-dwell- ing fungi that cause the disease coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley fever (1). Since coccidiomycosis was first recorded in 1892, the disease has become a public health concern in the United States, and several thousand cases are reported annually (2). Severe cases may involve complicated pneumonia, musculoskeletal disease, and meningitis. Coccidioides arthroconidia, which reside in the soil in dry, arid climates, are endemic in the western United States, as well as in Central and South America (2). In West Texas, a 30-county region in western Texas, the arid climate and prevalence of at-risk occupations in oil, construction, and agricultural enterprises provide conditions for contracting the infection (3). However, epidemiologic and serologic studies about coccidioidomycosis in Texas are limited, and few provide data on patient risk factors, such as occupation and contributing conditions, in part because coccidioidomycosis is not a reportable disease in the state. We retrospectively examined demographics and risk factors related to coccidioidomycosis case-patients seeking treatment at a regional referral center in West Texas.