Local Population Structure and Patterns of Western Hemisphere Dispersal for Coccidioides spp., the Fungal Cause of Valley Fever.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

Coccidioidomycosis (or valley fever) is a fungal disease with high morbidity and mortality that affects tens of thousands of people each year. This infection is caused by two sibling species, Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii, which are endemic to specific arid locales throughout the Western Hemisphere, particularly the desert southwest of the United States. Recent epidemiological and population genetic data suggest that the geographic range of coccidioidomycosis is expanding, as new endemic clusters have been identified in the state of Washington, well outside the established endemic range. The genetic mechanisms and epidemiological consequences of this expansion are unknown and require better understanding of the population structure and evolutionary history of the

SUBMITTER: Engelthaler DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4850269 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature