Effects of Soil Moisture and Soil Temperature on Coccidioidomycosis.

ABSTRACT: Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever, VF) is a climate-sensitive infectious disease caused by inhaling soil-dwelling fungus Coccidioides, mostly reported in southwestern USA. Although soil moisture (SM) and soil temperature (ST) are known to shape the fungal lifecycle, their effects on coccidioidomycosis remain understudied. Most prior studies have relied on their proxies-precipitation and air temperature-that might not accurately capture soil hydrothermal dynamics. We conducted multivariable negative binomial regressions to estimate seasonal associations between incidence and climate drivers-including SM, ST, and wind speed from the North American Land Data Assimilation Phase 2 (NLDAS-2), and PM₁₀-based dusty-day counts-in Arizona's hyperendemic counties (Maricopa, Pima, and

SUBMITTER: Li Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12648116 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature