Valley Fever: Environmental Risk Factors and Exposure Pathways Deduced from Field Measurements in California.

ABSTRACT: Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley fever, has been reported among military personnel in Coccidioides-endemic areas of the southwestern United States since World War II. In this study, the prevalence of Coccidioides was confirmed in different soil and dust samples collected near three military bases in California using DNA extraction and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methods. Analyses of physical and chemical parameters revealed no significant differences between Coccidioides-positive and -negative sites. Soil samples collected in the Mojave Desert (near Twentynine Palms MCAGCC) showed the highest percentage of Coccidioides-positive soil and dust samples. Samples from the San Joaquin Valley (near NAS Lemoore) showed the lowest percentage of positive sampl

SUBMITTER: Lauer A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7432779 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature