COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS (VALLEY FEVER)

Jobs at risk

Workers in endemic areas who are exposed to dust from soil disturbance, such as by working in close contact with soil, are thought to be at higher risk for coccidioidomycosis.^1,2,3 Examples include:

• Agricultural workers
• Archeological workers
• Construction workers
• Geologists
• Military personnel/trainees
• Wildland firefighters
• Workers in mining, gas, and oil extraction jobs

Recent outbreaks of work-related coccidioidomycosis have occurred in diverse occupational settings, including workers digging trenches⁴ and cast and crew members at an outdoor television filming event.⁵ Clusters of infections have also been found among employees and inmates at state prisons located in endemic areas.^6,7

References

1. Schmelzer LL, Tabershaw IR [1968]. Exposure factors in occupational coccidioidomycosis. Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1968 Jan;58(1):107-13. PubMed PMID: 5688736; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1228046.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [2013]. Coccidioidomycosis. [http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/coccidioidomycosis/index.html]. Date accessed: October 3, 2014.
3. California Department of Public Health (CDPH) [2014]. Preventing Work-Related Valley Fever Coccidioidomycosis) [http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ohb/pages/cocci.aspx]. Date accessed: October 3, 2014.
4. Das R, McNary J, Fitzsimmons K, Dobraca D, Cummings K, Mohle-Boetani J, Wheeler C, McDowell A, Iossifova Y, Bailey R, Kreiss K, Materna B [2012]. Occupational coccidioidomycosis in California: outbreak investigation, respirator recommendations, and surveillance findings. J Occup Environ Med. 2012 May;54(5):564-71. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e3182480556. PubMed PMID: 22504958.
5. Wilken JA, Marquez P, Terashita D, McNary J, Windham G, Materna B; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [2014]. Coccidioidomycosis among cast and crew members at an outdoor television filming event--California, 2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 63(15):321-4. PubMed PMID: 24739339.
6. Pappagianis D, Coccidioidomycosis Serology Laboratory [2007]. Coccidioidomycosis in California state correctional institutions. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1111:103-11.
7. de Perio MA, Burr GA [2014]. Evaluation of Coccidioides exposures and coccidioidomycosis infections among prison employees. Health Hazard Evaluation Program Report No. 2013-0113-3198, January 2014. [http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2013-0113-3198.pdf]. Date accessed: October 5, 2014.