A Desert fungus that infects human is spreading

Only a small number of the millions of fungal species in the globe can harm humans.

One of them is coccidioides.

Sometimes, its spores can infect people with rather serious diseases.

The strangest thing about this fungus, though, is not that.

The majority of mushrooms prefer dim, moist, and moderately cool environments, but this one has figured out how to survive in the desert.

Cocci, on the other hand, don't always wait for an animal to pass away before beginning to digest it from the inside out, in contrast to most fungus, which consume dead or rotting matter.

Putting the drama aside, despite the fact that this fungus has been there for ages, there are still a lot of mysteries surrounding it.

such as its precise location at any one moment or the manner in which it penetrates through the soil, as it is spreading.

We can only speculate as to why.

Cocci-related infections go under a variety of names.

Coccidioidomycosis.

Desert arthritis.

Fever in the San Joaquin Valley.

Valley Fever alone, perhaps.

Its symptoms are comparable to the flu's, with the exception that general aches and pains, fever, exhaustion, and other symptoms can continue for up to a month.

Many people get fungal pneumonia, but some people get far worse conditions such persistent lung illness, skin rashes, or meningitis, which can be fatal.

Fortunately, only approximately four out of ten persons ever experience any symptoms, and outbreaks are quite uncommon.

Currently, Arizona or California are the locations of 97% of US Valley Fever incidents.

But not all states submit reports.

Texas is thus one of those places that, although likely being a hotspot, simply doesn't report the condition nationwide.

States formally reported 20,000 Valley Fever cases to the CDC in 2019.

According to other academics, there are actually closer to 350,000 cases yearly.

if you take into account false diagnosis and underreporting.

Cases are increasing every year, according to reports, with California reporting a 159% spike from 2013 to 2019.

And more places are discovering it.

Mexico, Central America, and South America's southwest regions are where cocci are most frequently found in the soil.

However, in 2014, scientists discovered it in Washington State.

In states outside of this region, it's likely that the fungus itself is already present in the soil.

Not only that, but it's unclear how it's moving or where it's headed next, which further adds to the unease.

According to scientists, this enigmatic fungus may be disseminated by three distinct ways.

Let's start with some peculiar characteristics of cocci.

There are two types:

a type of environmental organism that dwells in arid dirt.

Thus, the dirt-borne fungus develops into a mold.

It resembles what you might see on stale bread in several ways.

However, the mold in question is tiny, light, and grows slowly in soil, making it difficult to detect.

Cocci release spores into the air when the soil is disturbed, such as when dust storms sweep across the west or when construction workers start digging a foundation, when unaware mammals breathe them in.

After being inhaled, the spores settle in the lungs where they somehow change into a parasite form that multiplies inside your body and expands to a size much larger than its original form.

It can be something like 100 microns through a variety of indicators that we actually don't really understand all that well.

Infected lung tissue has lesions that are visible to the naked eye.

Some persons who inhale these spores experience Valley Fever symptoms.

But occasionally, inexplicably, and this is the truly strange part, it might lie dormant in your lungs.

You actually give the fungus a place to live in your body.

Being inactive is a fantastic tactic, right?

You don't use a lot of resources.

Because you aren't actively growing and causing the host annoyance, they aren't recognizing you.

Yeah. Then, all you can do is wait.

Cocci doesn't care what kind of lungs it inhabits.

Nearly every sort of mammal, including humans, dogs, and dolphins, has been proven to develop infections.

This leads us to the second factor that may be aiding the spread of this fungus: desert rodents and a theory known as the Endozoan Hypothesis.

I hope you're prepared to discuss rats that have lost water.

This is how it functions.

When excavating its tunnel, a kangaroo rat or other desert rodent inhales cocci.

They either pass away from the infection or the cocci lie latent in their lungs.

The first thing on the scene to eat the deceased animal at that point is a fungus.

And when I say consume, I mean completely digest its corpse.

Fun fact: Cocci treat persons with severe valley fever in this manner.

During their life.

This organism is consuming their spinal column.

And I'm completely terrified.

It's the first to arrive, whichever way.

Not even you may claim to be the best competitor or performer in any field.

You were simply there first.

So perhaps it is Cocci's plan of attack.

Cocci are released back into the earth once a rodent dies and change back into their natural surroundings where they wait to be kicked up and inhaled by another host.

If this is the true, then the likelihood that cocci can spread through the soil increases with the number of desert rodents that live and die.

Extreme weather is the third linked element that we should discuss.

Not always, is it?

The desert has been receiving torrential rains, which have caused a growth in flora.

The abundance of food results in an abundance of rodents—plenty of hosts for the fungus to infect.

But eventually, the desert returns to being a desert, and a severe drought causes an increasing number of these diseased rats to perish.

Cocci spread immediately into the soil after they die, restarting the cycle.

Due to the fact that we know so little about cocci, we are still unsure if this is really a possibility.

It would take a tremendous amount of work and include attaching trackers to a number of desert rats to prove the Endozoan Hypothesis.

Additionally, it has been challenging to find cocci in the soil at all.

Even when it is present in the soil, the existing testing cannot always find it there.

Cocci's spread spread may ultimately be attributed to a combination of all of these variables, but there are still a great deal of unanswered concerns.

We do know that the US is getting warmer, which by itself could broaden the range of cocci and possibly infect more individuals.

According to one study, the spread of cocci might more than treble by 2095 as a result of the US becoming more drier.

Combine all of this with expanding desert building... and population increases in cities like Phoenix.

And it's not surprising that there are more cases of Valley Fever now.

Currently, researchers are also looking into prevention.

We have discovered a vaccine candidate that is extremely protective for mice and safe.

And now we've demonstrated that it also protects experimentally afflicted canines.

And that vaccine will soon arrive.

But listen, despite what would appear to be my best attempts, the purpose of this work isn't actually to frighten you or make you hyper-aware of a single bizarre virus.

This particular fungus is just one of a myriad instances showing how our world is changing in subtle and enigmatic ways—and how challenging it can be for science to keep up. I appreciate you reading. Give it a like and share the information with your friends.