- SAN DIEGO - A deadly
fungal infection called valley fever is spreading in and around Los Angeles.
Dozens of people have become sick after being exposed to spores in the
aftermath of last fall's wildfires.
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- Ventura County resident Carolyn Burnett is a victim of
valley fever. Since October, there have been at least 80 cases in Ventura
County. Health officials report it's an epidemic. The 44-year-old got it
by simply breathing.
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- "I still cry now because it's not fair that you
can get something just from breathing because it's just not right and it
ends up to where I can't even walk, or move at times. That's just how bad
it is," Burnett said.
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- Valley fever is caused by the release of spores of a
fungus that exists in the soil.
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- "You get it by inhaling the spores of this organism.
It resides in the top 12 inches of soil in the southwestern United States.
We have it here in our county, especially the east side of our county,"
Ventura County Public Heath Dr. Robert Levin said.
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- The spores are released when affected soil is disturbed
-- like when the Simi Valley and Piru fires ate through the grass, brush
and trees, covering hillsides around Ventura.
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- In late October, the spores were unleashed, putting everyone
at risk. Several months ago, Burnett said her first symptoms included severe
pain in her back and lungs. She became very ill.
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- "It got so bad to where I couldn't get up. It got
to the point of where I would cough so bad, there was no more breath left
in me. I basically would almost pass out," Burnett said.
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- Levin said most people that get valley fever have no
symptoms whatsoever.
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- "Only a tiny percent of the people who get it, maybe
1 percent, need to go to see a physician because they're feeling so bad,"
Levin said.
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- Burnett said doctors found a large mass on her right
lung.
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- "Mine was probably the size of a tennis ball. It
set on my lung and you could see it on X-rays. They didn't know what it
was because it was just sitting there. They didn't know if it was cancer
or a tumor because it was just sitting there on top of my right lung,"
Burnett said.
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- Health officials say anyone can get valley fever. They
say the spores are also in the ground in Los Angeles County.
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- http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20040414/lo_kgtv/2093454
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