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Aug 8, 2003 The headline read, Army stumped on cause of pneumonia in troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan It took me back to 1948, during the Korean War, when I was living in Tucson, Arizona. My husband, a reporter for the for the Tucson Daily Citizen, was working on a story about the mysterious pneumonia like disease striking Black airmen who were being reassigned from the deep south states Alabama , Georgia, Mississippi, - to our local Davis Monthan Air Force Base. . . The cause of the disease turned out to be Valley Fever coccidioidomycosis, a lung disorder, common in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico that got its name from the agricultural area of the San Joaquin Valley in California. It is caused by a fungus, somewhat like yeast or mildew - Coccidioides immitis cocci for short - which grows in soils in areas of low rainfall, high summer temperatures and moderate winter temperatures. Hmmm, I thought, sounds like the desert areas Iraq and Afghanistan . These fungal spores become airborne when the soil is disturbed by wind and are inhaled into the lungs, where the infection begins. For the fortunate ones, it appears that after one exposure the body develops an immunity to the disease. Some 60 percent of the people who breathe the spores do not get sick at all, but for others the symptoms may feel like a cold or the flu. For those sick enough to be seen by a doctor, it can be serious, with pneumonia like symptoms.. Valley fever is not contagious. You cant spread it from one person to another, but of all the people infected with Valley Fever, one or more out of 200 will develop the disseminated form, which is devastating and can be fatal. These are cases in which the disease spreads beyond the lungs through the bloodstream - skin, bones and membranes surrounding the brain - causing meningitis. According to Hans Einstein, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.C.C.P., Professor of Clinical Medicine,. U.S.C. School of Medicine, Medical Director, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, Valley Fever has long plagued, and mystified man.. Although it has been studied for the past 100 years, it is a disease that has remained impossible to control and difficult to treat. If you live in a highly endemic area, (like Tucson , Bakersfield, or possibly Iraq and Afghanistan) you may have had Valley Fever without knowing it, according to Dr.Einstein. In some endemic areas, it is estimated as much as half the population has been infected. Persons whose activities put them in much contact with the soil appear to have a somewhat greater risk. Once infected, persons of African, Filipino and those of other Asian ancestries seem to be at a greater risk of contracting the more serious form of the disease The young, old and those with lowered immune systems are also in the high risk groups. I think anyone living in the Tucson area before it became a major city was exposewd to Valley Fever as we used to have dust storms that lasted for days at a time. Most of us lived to tell about it. I got it and thought I had the flu. Had a friend whose husband got it. He didn't make it. Had a dog that had to be put to sleep because of it. Nasty stuff that Valley Fever! I have no idea if the cases of pneumonia plaguing our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are caused by the Valley fever fungus, but there seems to be a correlation between the climate and terrain of the our Valley Fever hot spots and the areas in the Middle East where our troops are stationed. Im certain the medical teams are already looking into that possibility. If they are not, maybe they should be. ------------ About the author: Bobbie Hart ONeill is a retired print media journalist, CSU-Sacramento, 74, with 40 years experience in the field. She has worked as a reporter, feature writer, columnist, public relations writer, magazine/newsletter editor and publisher. She is currently a freelance writer residing in Yuma, Arizona and has published a childrens book, written three screenplays and a novel. In addition, she is interested in civic affairs, politics, current events, ethnology and animals. Email Bobbie: bobbieo@digitaldune.net Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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