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Government health agencies have grossly underreported deadly Valley Fever cases by up to 18 times, leaving Americans in high-risk areas dangerously uninformed and vulnerable to a disease that claimed 900 lives in 2019 alone.
Key Takeaways
- Valley Fever’s true impact is 10-18 times higher than official reports, with an estimated 273,000 symptomatic cases and 900 deaths in 2019
- The respiratory infection caused approximately 23,000 hospitalizations, primarily affecting southwestern states like Arizona and California
- Only 28 states and Washington DC require reporting of Valley Fever cases, creating dangerous gaps in surveillance.
- Environmental factors, including drought and wildfires, may be increasing the spread of this potentially deadly fungal disease.
- Improved testing and awareness are urgently needed, especially for pneumonia patients not responding to antibiotics.
Deadly Disease Flying Under the Radar
A bombshell CDC study released on June 3, 2025, reveals the shocking extent of Valley Fever’s impact across America. The respiratory infection, caused by inhaling spores of Coccidioides fungi primarily found in southwestern soil, affected an estimated 273,000 Americans in 2019, up to 18 times higher than officially reported figures. The research, published in JAMA Network Open, confirms what many conservative health advocates have long suspected: government agencies are dramatically underreporting serious health threats that predominantly affect red states like Arizona and Texas. The systematic undercount has left citizens uninformed about a disease that hospitalizes thousands and kills hundreds annually.
“Some of the main factors contributing to underreporting include underdiagnosis or misdiagnosis of coccidioidomycosis as bacterial or viral community-acquired pneumonia, coccidioidomycosis being reportable only in 28 states and Washington DC, and people who may not seek care for coccidioidomycosis even if they have symptoms,” said Mitsuru Toda, PhD.
Red States Bearing the Heaviest Burden
The study revealed a national incidence rate of 83 cases per 100,000 people, with dramatically higher rates in high-endemic states (267 per 100,000). Arizona and California were hardest hit, accounting for an estimated 125,000 cases. These predominantly conservative-leaning regions have suffered while federal health agencies have failed to properly track, report, and address the growing threat. The study divided states into high-endemic (Arizona, California), low-endemic (Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Washington), and unknown endemicity categories, highlighting the regional nature of this public health crisis.
“It is important for clinicians to test for coccidioidomycosis in patients with pneumonia who are not getting better on antibiotics, regardless of where they live,” said Mitsuru Toda, PhD.
Environmental Factors Worsening the Crisis
The research team, led by Samantha L. Williams, MPH, from the CDC, noted that environmental factors like drought and wildfires may be increasing the spread of the disease. A surge in California cases in early 2025 underscores the need for expanded surveillance and environmental monitoring. These environmental connections raise questions about whether climate policies in southwestern states have adequately considered public health impacts related to soil disturbance and fungal spread. While the Biden administration has obsessed over global climate issues, localized environmental health threats have gone largely overlooked.
Currently, only 28 states and Washington, DC report coccidioidomycosis. Increasing the number of states that report coccidioidomycosis could help enhance our understanding of coccidioidomycosis epidemiology and the spread of Coccidioides species over time, especially in places where coccidioidomycosis is more common,” said Mitsuru Toda, PhD.
Bureaucratic Failures and Need for Reform
The systemic failure to properly track and report Valley Fever cases is emblematic of broader problems in our public health infrastructure. While billions of taxpayer dollars flowed into COVID-related programs, other serious health threats like Valley Fever received inadequate attention. The study revealed that diagnostic challenges remain a significant barrier to timely treatment, and the CDC is only now working to address these gaps. The Trump administration’s focus on health infrastructure modernization and local control over health policy could provide the framework needed to address these reporting failures.
“Increased awareness nationwide is needed among clinicians and the general public, as patients with knowledge of coccidioidomycosis may be more likely to be diagnosed earlier than those unfamiliar with the disease,” wrote the study authors.
The researchers employed data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) and applied multipliers to account for underreporting and other factors. Despite the importance of their findings, the study received no specific federal funding, highlighting once again how health threats primarily affecting red states receive less financial attention than politically driven health initiatives. When 900 Americans die from a preventable and treatable disease that’s flying under the radar, it’s time for a complete overhaul of our disease surveillance systems and a return to health policies that prioritize actual threats over political agendas.