Coccidioides immitis (Valley Fever) in the yard and garden
High risk for your yardCoccidioides immitis and C. posadasii are dimorphic soil fungi causing coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever), an endemic mycosis of the arid and semi-arid American Southwest, Central Valley of California, and Mexico. Infection occurs by inhalation of arthroconidia (barrel-shaped, 2-5 um) from disturbed soil — dust storms, construction, earthquakes, and agricultural work are major risk factors. Estimated 150,000 infections per year in the US; ~60% are asymptomatic. Symptomatic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis causes fever, cough, chest pain, fatigue, and arthralgias ('desert rheumatism'). Disseminated disease (1% of infections) can involve skin, bones, joints, and meninges — coccidioidal meningitis is uniformly fatal without lifelong azole therapy. Risk factors for dissemination: African American and Filipino ancestry (10-175x higher risk), pregnancy (third trimester), immunosuppression, diabetes. Climate change is expanding the endemic range northward — cases now reported in Washington state. Arthroconidia are classified as BSL-3 agents due to extreme infectivity. WHO 2022 Fungal Priority Pathogens: High priority. No approved vaccine, though a Delta-CPS1 vaccine candidate is in clinical development.
What is coccidioides immitis (valley fever)?
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Risk for people, pets,
High riskCoccidioides immitis and C. posadasii are dimorphic soil fungi causing coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever), an endemic mycosis of the arid and semi-arid American Southwest, Central Valley of California, and Mexico. Infection occurs by inhalation of arthroconidia (barrel-shaped, 2-5 um) from disturbed soil — dust storms, construction, earthquakes, and agricultural work are major risk factors. Estimated 150,000 infections per year in the US; ~60% are asymptomatic. Symptomatic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis causes fever, cough, chest pain, fatigue, and arthralgias ('desert rheumatism'). Disseminated disease (1% of infections) can involve skin, bones, joints, and meninges — coccidioidal meningitis is uniformly fatal without lifelong azole therapy. Risk factors for dissemination: African American and Filipino ancestry (10-175x higher risk), pregnancy (third trimester), immunosuppression, diabetes. Climate change is expanding the endemic range northward — cases now reported in Washington state. Arthroconidia are classified as BSL-3 agents due to extreme infectivity. WHO 2022 Fungal Priority Pathogens: High priority. No approved vaccine, though a Delta-CPS1 vaccine candidate is in clinical development.
Regulatory consensus
1 regulatory bodyhas classified Coccidioides immitis (Valley Fever).
| Agency | Year | Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | — | — |
Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.
Where your yard encounter coccidioides immitis (valley fever)
- Soil (Arid Regions) — Southwest US (Arizona, California Central Valley), Northern Mexico, South America
- Dust — Dust storms, Construction sites, Archaeological digs
Frequently asked questions
Is coccidioides immitis (valley fever) safe for your yard?
Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii are dimorphic soil fungi causing coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever), an endemic mycosis of the arid and semi-arid American Southwest, Central Valley of California, and Mexico. Infection occurs by inhalation of arthroconidia (barrel-shaped, 2-5 um) from disturbed soil — dust storms, construction, earthquakes, and agricultural work are major risk factors. Estimated 150,000 infections per year in the US; ~60% are asymptomatic. Symptomatic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis causes fever, cough, chest pain, fatigue, and arthralgias ('desert rheumatism'). Disseminated disease (1% of infections) can involve skin, bones, joints, and meninges — coccidioidal meningitis is uniformly fatal without lifelong azole therapy. Risk factors for dissemination: African American and Filipino ancestry (10-175x higher risk), pregnancy (third trimester), immunosuppression, diabetes. Climate change is expanding the endemic range northward — cases now reported in Washington state. Arthroconidia are classified as BSL-3 agents due to extreme infectivity. WHO 2022 Fungal Priority Pathogens: High priority. No approved vaccine, though a Delta-CPS1 vaccine candidate is in clinical development.
What products contain coccidioides immitis (valley fever)?
Coccidioides immitis (Valley Fever) appears in: Southwest US (Arizona, California Central Valley) (Soil (arid regions)); Northern Mexico (Soil (arid regions)); Dust storms (Dust); Construction sites (Dust).
See Coccidioides immitis (Valley Fever) in the outdoor app
Look up products containing coccidioides immitis (valley fever), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.
Open in outdoor View raw API dataSources (2)
- PubChem (2026) — database
- ALETHEIA fungi compound batch (2026) — batch_creation
Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →