Health
Valley Fever outbreak reported after California music festival as health officials cite 'hotspot'
![Valley Fever outbreak reported after California music festival as health officials cite 'hotspot' Valley Fever outbreak reported after California music festival as health officials cite 'hotspot'](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/music-festival.jpg)
Several people have contracted Valley fever following an outdoor music festival near Bakersfield, California, according to a statement from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis) is a lung infection caused by breathing in a soil-borne fungus found in California and some parts of the southwestern U.S.
So far, five patients who attended the outdoor music festival, Lightning in a Bottle, have been diagnosed with the infection. Three of those have been hospitalized, the CDPH reported.
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More than 20,000 people attended the festival, held from May 22 to May 27 at Buena Vista Lake.
There is the potential for additional cases to emerge among festival-goers, health officials said.
Several people have contracted Valley fever following an outdoor music festival near Bakersfield, California (not pictured). (iStock)
For those who attended the festival or visited Kern County and are experiencing symptoms, the CDPH recommends they see a doctor and ask about testing for the infection.
“While the event occurred two months ago and mild cases of Valley fever might have already resolved, other patients with more long-term or severe disease may still be symptomatic or undiagnosed,” the CDPH stated.
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Tom Langdon Hill, director of training for the CCHS Foundation in Tucson, Arizona, which offers free training regarding the medical needs of the homeless, said it is “desperately difficult” to predict when and where someone may be exposed to Valley Fever.
“However, the outbreak tied to the outdoor music festival, Lightning in a Bottle, happened in an area already known as a Valley Fever hotspot, with 34 deaths tallied in 2022 alone,” Hill told Fox News Digital.
![coughing at night](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/04/1200/675/woman-coughing.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Symptoms typically include cough, fatigue, fever, trouble breathing and chest pain. They usually begin within one to three weeks of infection. (iStock)
“While exposure to dust may be the cause of that outbreak, a just-released study points to wildfires as another possible source for the spread of Valley Fever.”
Symptoms and transmission
The majority of people who are exposed to the fungus do not get sick, but about 40% will develop respiratory symptoms, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Symptoms typically include cough, fatigue, fever, trouble breathing and chest pain. They usually begin within one to three weeks of infection.
From 2018 to 2022, California recorded between 7,000 and 9,000 cases of Valley fever each year.
Approximately 5% to 10% of people with Valley fever will develop complications, which can include serious lung problems, the CDC stated.
For around 1% of people, disseminated disease can occur, which is when the infection spreads to other parts of the body, such as the skin, joints, bones or brain.
The infection does not spread from person to person or between people and animals, the CDC said.
![Doctor with needle](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/04/1200/675/blurry-doctor-needle.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
While there is not yet a vaccine for Valley fever, three vaccines are currently in development. (iStock)
Valley fever has been increasing in prevalence in California, the health department noted.
Cases tripled between 2014 and 2018. From 2018 to 2022, the state recorded between 7,000 and 9,000 cases per year.
It is most common in the San Joaquin Valley and in the Central Coast areas.
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Certain areas with high dust exposure present a greater risk. Those include places where construction, archaeology, farming or military training occur, per the CDC.
Homeless populations are also at a higher risk, according to Hill.
![San Francisco homelessness](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1200/675/H2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Homeless populations are also at a higher risk for Valley fever, according to experts. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“The homeless spend much more of their time exposed to dust and the smoke from wildfires,” Hill told Fox News Digital.
“It is no surprise that those on the streets have both higher rates of Valley fever and a startlingly higher rate of deadly complications from the disease.”
Is a nationwide spread possible?
Dr. George Thompson, a professor at UC Davis Health and co-director of the Center for Valley fever in Sacramento, told Fox News Digital in 2023 about a ramp-up in cases over the past several years.
“We have seen a gradual increase in cases over the last five years, and a greater number of patients are coming into our clinic for diagnosis and treatment,” he said at the time.
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In 2019, a study by Morgan Gorris — which was published in GeoHealth, a journal focused on environmental and health sciences research — suggested that climate change could trigger an expansion of Valley fever into northwestern states, including Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota.
“At first, I was skeptical,” said Dr. Thompson of California. “But I’ve recently heard about new cases emerging in Nebraska and even Missouri, so I think it’s in the realm of possibility.”
![Construction digging](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/1200/675/construction-digging.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Certain areas with high dust exposure present a greater risk. Those include places where construction, archaeology, farming or military training occur, per the CDC. (iStock)
Valley fever cases are expected to arrive in northern Utah and eastern Colorado by 2035, according to the study. Gorris, the study’s author, also predicts that the disease will become endemic in Nebraska, southeastern Montana, southern Idaho and South Dakota by 2065, and that it could arrive in northern Montana and North Dakota by 2095.
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Other research has linked the rising Valley fever cases to an increase in dust storms. Another recent GeoHealth study by Daniel Q. Tong, a scientist and professor at George Mason University in Virginia, found that dust storms in the Southwest have risen by 240% between the 1990s and 2000s, followed by an 800% spike in Valley fever cases between 2001 and 2011.
Treatment and prevention
A blood test sent to a lab can confirm a current or prior infection of Valley fever, and a chest X-ray or CT scan can detect cases of pneumonia, according to the CDC.
![Prescriptions](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2021/08/1200/675/prescription-drug-misuse.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Antifungal medications such as Fluconazole and Itraconazole are typically used to treat Valley fever. (iStock)
Antifungal medications such as Fluconazole and Itraconazole are typically used to treat Valley fever.
While there is not yet a vaccine for Valley fever, three vaccines are currently in development, including one that has been successfully tested with dogs.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, recently announced $4.5 million in funding to support research toward diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for the disease.
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The CDC notes that certain groups are more vulnerable.
These include people 60 years of age and older; those who have weakened immune systems as a result of certain diseases or medical conditions; pregnant women; people with diabetes; and people who are Black or Filipino.
![Elderly man sick](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1200/675/elderly-man-in-hospital.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Certain groups are more vulnerable, including people 60 years of age and older, or those who have weakened immune systems as a result of certain diseases or medical conditions. (iStock)
For those in high-risk groups, doctors recommend avoiding construction sites or areas where soil is often stirred up into the air.
People can also wear an N95 respirator, a type of high-quality mask, to minimize exposure in dusty areas.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
Early diagnosis and treatment is important, doctors advise.
Fox News Digital reached out to the CDPH and the organizers of the music festival for comment.
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Health
Parents fight for a cure, plus viral outbreaks and benefits of weekend sleep
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Health
Breast cancer screenings may decline for women who receive false-positive test results, says study
![Breast cancer screenings may decline for women who receive false-positive test results, says study Breast cancer screenings may decline for women who receive false-positive test results, says study](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/05/woman-getting-mammogram.jpg)
High rates of false positive test results may be keeping women from sticking to recommended mammogram screenings for breast cancer, a new study has found.
Researchers from UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center in Sacramento, California, reviewed more than 3.5 million screening mammograms performed among more than one million women between 2005 and 2017.
Women who received a true-negative result were more likely to return for future screenings, with a 77% compliance rate.
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By comparison, among those who received a false positive, only 61% returned for another mammogram in six months, and 67% returned for a recommended biopsy. (A false positive occurs when a mammogram shows an abnormal result that is investigated further, but does not lead to a cancer diagnosis.)
The women, who ranged in age from 40 to 73, had not previously received a breast cancer diagnosis.
High rates of false positives may be keeping women from sticking to recommended mammogram screenings for breast cancer, a new study has found. (iStock)
The study findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Sept. 3.
Surprising findings
“We found that women were less likely to return for another screening mammogram if they were recalled for additional imaging that did not result in a cancer diagnosis, especially if that recall resulted in a recommendation for a short-interval follow-up or biopsy or if they experienced false-positive exams on two consecutive screening mammograms,” lead study author Dr. Diana Miglioretti, a professor and division chief of biostatistics in the UC Davis School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences, told Fox News Digital.
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Miglioretti said she was surprised by the findings, as surveys have suggested that women believe they would be just as likely to continue screening even after a false-positive result.
“However, something about the experience seems to influence their actual behavior, and despite their intentions to return, some do not,” she added.
![gyno looks at mammogram](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/10/1200/675/iStock-917730078.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
A false positive occurs when a mammogram shows an abnormal result that is investigated further, but does not lead to a cancer diagnosis. (iStock)
Another surprising element, Miglioretti said, was that a false-positive recommendation for a short-interval follow-up — meaning the patient needs to return in six months for diagnostic imaging to evaluate changes in the abnormal finding — had the greatest impact on a woman’s likelihood of not returning for future screenings.
“I initially expected that the probability of returning would be lowest for those who had undergone a benign biopsy,” she said.
“Approximately 10% of screening mammograms require diagnostic work-up, and most women called back for further imaging do not have breast cancer.”
“However, even after following women for five years after a false-positive result, women who received a short-interval follow-up recommendation were the least likely to return for future screening mammograms.”
Asian and Hispanic/Latinx women were least likely to return for future screenings after a false positive.
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“This is extremely concerning, as recent trends have conveyed a much faster rate of growth in breast cancer rates in this demographic than in other ethnic and racial groups,” Dr. Tingting Tan, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist and hematologist at City of Hope Newport Beach in California, told Fox News Digital.
(Tan was not involved in the study.)
“There is a 52% rise in breast cancer rates in the last two decades among Asian-American and Pacific Islander women under the age of 50.”
What to know about false positives
A false positive occurs when a mammogram shows an abnormal result that is investigated further, but does not lead to a cancer diagnosis.
“Following the mammogram, the results will either come back as clear (known as a true negative) or will be flagged for additional testing,” Tan said.
![Breast cancer screening](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/10/1200/675/mammogram-breast-screening.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Some common causes of false positives include dense breast tissue, small calcium deposits in the breast, overlapping breast tissue that creates shadows or normal variations in breast tissue. (iStock)
Some common causes of false positives, according to UC Davis, include dense breast tissue, small calcium deposits in the breast, overlapping breast tissue that creates shadows, or normal variations in breast tissue.
False-positive results occur in 10% to 12% of mammograms for women between 40 and 49 years of age, UC Davis noted.
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Within a decade of annual screenings, up to 60% of women experience at least one false positive result.
As a breast cancer specialist, Tan said she often hears the term “scanxiety” to describe the fear that is associated with imaging.
“Even a slight possibility of being diagnosed with cancer can be debilitating, and we understand that the follow-up check-ups after an abnormal mammogram can take an emotional toll,” she said.
![Mammogram results](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/04/1200/675/mammogram-results.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
“If women have concerns about their false-positive result or are unclear of what it means, they should talk with their doctor,” an expert advised. (iStock)
“While it can be distressing to not have a true negative from that initial mammogram, patients should not worry if their doctor orders a breast ultrasound following a mammogram, as it is a very common procedure.”
Asking questions and having open communication with health care providers can help to ease stress and anxiety when there is follow-up to an abnormal screening, Tan added.
Importance of continued screenings
Based on these findings, the researchers emphasized that women who receive false-positive results should continue screening every one to two years.
“A false positive — particularly if it leads to a diagnosis of benign breast disease — is associated with a small increase in developing breast cancer in the future,” Miglioretti said.
“If women have concerns about their false-positive result or are unclear of what it means, they should talk with their doctor.”
Women should also be aware that a screening test often requires further diagnostic evaluation to confirm that a finding is normal, the doctor added.
“A false positive — particularly if it leads to a diagnosis of benign breast disease — is associated with a small increase in developing breast cancer in the future.”
“This is a standard part of the screening process,” Miglioretti told Fox News Digital.
“Approximately 10% of screening mammograms require diagnostic work-up, and most women called back for further imaging do not have breast cancer.”
Tan emphasized the importance of mammograms as the “gold standard” for breast screening.
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“Mammograms can catch cancer at early stages, before symptoms,” she told Fox News Digital.
“They are proven to decrease mortality, which is why almost every patient will begin with a screening mammogram.”
Potential limitations of the study
The researchers only evaluated false positives on the two prior screening mammograms for each woman, the researchers noted.
![mammogram](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2018/09/1200/675/mammogram_640.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
“Cancer is highly complex, and it is essential to see a radiologist who specializes in reading mammograms,” an expert advised. (iStock)
“Women could have had false-positive mammograms prior to that,” Miglioretti noted.
The study was also limited to 177 facilities participating in the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC), which means some women could have received care at non-BCSC facilities.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
“Cancer is highly complex, and it is essential to see a radiologist who specializes in reading mammograms,” Tan advised.
“Early detection is key for better outcomes, which is why it is so important to know your breast cancer risk and to get your regular screenings.”
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