S.J. sees spike in Valley fever cases

STOCKTON — Over the past 20 months, San Joaquin County has seen a significant increase in the number of reported cases of Valley fever, a noncontagious fungal infection found in dry soil that becomes airborne when the ground is disturbed by wind, farming or construction.

The University of California, Davis Center for Valley fever reported this week that the county has experienced a 215 percent increase between the start of 2017 and Aug. 31 this year, based on 72 reported cases in 2017 and 227 reported cases during the first eight months of 2018.

In 2016, there were 69 new cases in San Joaquin County reported to the California Department of Public Health.

The highest prevalence of cases occurs in the county’s southwest corner around Tracy, according to San Joaquin County Public Health Services, which started seeing the first signs of increasing reports in 2014.

The spike places San Joaquin among the top five counties in California with the highest increases in the number of reported Valley fever cases in the past two years, just as the number of reported cases statewide has reached its highest levels, according to UC Davis.

Typically, residents of the southern San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast are most commonly affected.

Kern County, which has experienced a twofold spike in numbers during the same period, leads the state with 1,831 cases of Valley fever reported through August this year.

While anyone is susceptible to the infection that can lead to serious respiratory infection or life-threatening complications, the most sensitive groups include people 60 and older, pregnant women, people with diabetes or weakened immune systems, and certain groups, including blacks, Filipinos and Latinos.

Wildland firefighters are particularly at risk, with several confirmed cases in 2017 and more expected this year given California’s severe fire season, according to UC Davis.