Scientists make remarkable new discovery after studying fast-spreading disease: 'Dogs are sentinels'
Valley fever, also known as Coccidioidomycosis, is a lung infection that occurs from breathing in the spores of the Coccidioides fungus.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fungus lives in moist soil conditions commonly found in the Western United States and parts of Mexico, and Central and South America. Digging into soil containing the fungus spores can cause them to become airborne, which can then enter the respiratory system and cause infection.
Dogs who like to dig into the soil are "more at risk of getting the disease," per Sierra Sun Times. However, humans and other mammals, including cattle, horses, llamas and alpacas, and apes and monkeys, have also been found to contract the disease.
Among recorded valley fever cases in animals, though, dogs constitute the majority, according to the University of Arizona.
A group of scientists at the University of California, Davis studied how the disease manifests in dog populations in the United States, gathering data trends to extrapolate disease risk in humans.
The study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, is one of the largest scientific reviews on animal data for valley fever.
Blood test results of 834,899 dogs over a 10-year period from 2012 to 2022 that were sourced from diagnostic laboratories that conducted animal blood tests for valley fever were analyzed.
From this data, the scientists were able to map where positive cases of valley fever occurred — 91.5% of cases occurred in Arizona, 3.7% in California, 2.6% in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, collectively, and 0.6% in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, combined. The remaining states within the country made up 1.3% of positive cases.
Observing positive cases in states where the disease has not yet become endemic, Jane Sykes, lead author of the UC Davis study, told Sierra Sun Times, "We should be closely watching those states because there could be under-recognition of the emerging fungal disease in humans."
Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home?
Yes — always
Yes — often
Yes — sometimes
No — never
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Exposure to the disease and occurring symptoms may vary from person to person, which include fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, rashes, and muscle or joint pain, but severe cases may cause long-term lung problems.
"Dogs are sentinels for human infections," Sykes said, per Sierra Sun Times.
Valley fever may be exacerbated by drought conditions, which can lead to dry soil that can be picked up and dispersed across the land by strong winds, as a study in the journal Environmental International, shared by Science Direct, explained. The fungal spore particles are then airborne, posing a health risk to humans and dogs who may accidentally inhale them.
Intense heavy rainfall also creates the ideal conditions for the fungal spores to thrive, which tends to lead to bigger surges in positive cases when the rain returns, per UC San Diego.
Scientists have found that soil moisture across the globe has been depleting over decades. Along with drying soil, over 130 U.S. locations have experienced an increase in hourly rainfall intensity since 1970, creating high-risk flood zones.
Reducing national risk for valley fever includes increased awareness of the disease and hypervigilance in high-risk states. Studying dogs, as this study has found, may help humans better protect and defend against the disease.
Taking action to protect the environment from rising global temperatures and the changing climate conditions that come with it may help reduce the frequency of extreme weather events, such as droughts and flooding, that increase the risk of disease.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
4 hours ago
- UPI
Death toll from Legionnaires' outbreak in New York rises to four
New York health officials confirmed a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Central Harlem has now caused four deaths and sickened 101 people. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News A Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Central Harlem has now caused four deaths and sickened 101 people, New York City health officials confirmed. The bacteria that cause the illness, called Legionella, were found in 12 cooling towers across 10 buildings, including NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem. Cooling towers help regulate temperature in large buildings, but if they are not cleaned properly, bacteria can grow and spread through mist in the air. "As of today, 11 of the 12 cooling towers in Central Harlem that tested positive for Legionella bacteria have completed remediation, and by tomorrow, all towers will have completed remediations," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Aug. 14. "New Yorkers should know the air is safe to breathe, and we are seeing declining numbers of new cases each day." The New York City Department of Health also stressed that building plumbing systems are separate from cooling towers, meaning that tap water is safe to drink and use. "This community outbreak is not related to a building's hot or cold water supply. Residents in these ZIP codes can continue to drink water, bathe, shower, cook, and use their air conditioner," the department said. The city announced the outbreak on July 25. Since then, 11 cooling towers in the area tested positive for Legionella pneumophila, a strain of the bacteria. Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse said inspectors continue to work with building owners to ensure proper testing and cleaning, CNN reported. "The good news is that new cases have begun to decline, which indicates that the sources of the bacteria have been contained," Morse told CNN. "New Yorkers who live or work in the identified ZIP codes and have flu-like symptoms should contact a health care provider as soon as possible for timely diagnosis and treatment for the best chance at a good outcome." Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Symptoms can include: Cough, fever, headaches, muscles aches and shortness of breath. The infection can be treated with antibiotics. Left untreated, it may lead to serious complications like lung failure or death. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 10% of people who get Legionnaires' die from it. Older adults and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk. More information The Mayo Clinic has more on symptoms and causes of Legionnaires' disease. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
COVID surges nationwide with highest rates in Southwest as students return to school
COVID-19 rates in the Southwestern United States reached 12.5% — the highest in the nation — according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County recorded the highest COVID levels in its wastewater since February. The spike, thanks to the new highly contagious 'Stratus' variant, comes as students across California return to the classroom, now without a CDC recommendation that they receive updated COVID shots. That change in policy, pushed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been criticized by many public health experts. The COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, mutates often, learning to better transmit itself from person to person and evade immunity created by vaccinations and previous infections. The Stratus variant, first detected in Asia in January, reached the U.S. in March and became the predominant strain by the end of June. It now accounts for two-thirds of virus variants detected in wastewater in the U.S., according to the CDC. The nationwide COVID positivity rate hit 9% in early August, surpassing the January post-holiday surge, but still below last August's spike to 18%. Weekly deaths, a metric that lags behind positivity rates, has so far remained low. In May, RFK Jr. announced the CDC had removed the COVID vaccine from its recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and healthy pregnant women. The secretary argued it was the right move to reverse the Biden administration's policy, which in 2024, 'urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot, despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children.' That statement promptly spurred a lawsuit from a group of leading medical organizations — including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians and the American Public Health Association — which argued the 'baseless and uninformed' decision violated federal law by failing to ground the policy on the recommendation of the scientific committee that looks at immunization practices in the U.S. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has been routinely recommending updated COVID vaccinations alongside the typical yearly flu vaccination schedule. In its update for the fall 2024-spring 2025 season, it noted that in the previous year, a COVID booster decreased the risk of hospitalization by 44% and death by 23%. The panel argued the benefit outweighed isolated cases of heart conditions and allergic reactions associated with the vaccine. The panel also acknowledged that booster effectiveness decreases as new COVID strains — for which the boosters were not designed — emerge. Nevertheless, it still felt that most Americans should get booster shots. The CDC estimates that only about 23% of adults and 13% of children received the 2024-2025 COVID booster — even with the vaccine recommendation still in place. That's compared to roughly half of adults and children who received the updated flu shot in the same time frame.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump cut mental health funding for kids. These L.A. teens are stepping in
There are a lot of reasons why people reach out to Teen Line, a Century City-based hotline that connects young people in crisis to trained teenage volunteers. They call because someone is hurting them or they are afraid of hurting themselves. They text because an important relationship has ended or a troubling conflict has started. They feel disrespected, disregarded, dismissed. At the heart of almost every call, text or email is the same cry of pain: Nobody is listening. So the teenagers on the receiving end do what they wish adults would make time for more often, the thing nobody seems to be doing enough of these days: They listen. Almost every single time, for at least the length of a call or a chat session, it's enough. 'Even if their situation is really difficult, the best that we can do at the start is always just to listen,' said volunteer Mendez, 18. (The volunteers' last names are withheld to protect their privacy and anonymity.) 'And even if we don't have a solution for them, I feel like that is one thing that just helps them so much.' A project of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, Teen Line is helping to fill an ever-widening gap between the need for mental health support and the resources available. The phone and text lines are available to youth throughout the U.S. and Canada, and the email address can be used by teens anywhere in the world. Volunteers fielded 8,886 calls, texts and emails in 2024. Managers expect the total will surpass 10,000 this year. The percentage of high school students who report feeling consistently sad or lonely has risen steadily in the last decade. A study published last fall by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 39.7% of students said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and 20.4% had seriously considered dying by suicide. At the same time, government spending cuts have hit many support services. The Trump administration announced in April that it will stop paying $1 billion in federal grants that school districts nationwide have been using to hire psychologists and social workers. The 'Big Beautiful Bill' that Congress passed in May proposes major cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which millions of Americans rely on to access mental healthcare for themselves and their kids. In July, the administration removed an option on the 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline that allowed young people identifying as LGBTQ+ to connect directly with counselors specially trained in supporting queer youth. More than 1.3 million queer young people in the U.S. have used the service since its launch in 2022. None of this has deterred the 60 to 70 young volunteers at Teen Line, who commit to 65 hours of initial training and a minimum of two five-hour shifts per month. The program receives no federal funding and relies entirely on grants and private donations. Each evening, eight to 12 high school students file into a sunny office in Century City, often after a long day of classes, homework, practices and part-time jobs. They raid the snack room, settle into cubicles, pick up headsets and spend the next few hours talking and typing with fellow teens seeking support. The lines are open for calls and texts from 6 to 10 p.m. Pacific Time each evening (the text option closes one hour earlier). Emails can be sent any time of the day or night. They share an office with adult volunteers for the 988 hotline. With its collection of hand-painted canvases and stuffed animals, though, the Teen Line corner is easy to pick out in the sea of staid cubicles. Didi Hirsch is by far the largest of the 12 centers in California that respond to 988. Last year, the organization fielded nearly 40% of the 454,146 calls to 988 placed in the state. Total calls to the crisis hotline this year have already surpassed last year's number, with more than 462,000 calls from California alone, a Didi Hirsch spokesperson said. People of any age can contact 988, teens included. But a call or text to Teen Line, which has its own 800 number, guarantees a response from a peer who likely understands better than most well-meaning adults what it's like to be a teenager today. The public discussion about the youth mental health crisis 'really becomes removed from the actual reality of what it's like to be a teen, because the people having these conversations aren't teens. They're people kind of trying to look through the window from outside the glass,' said volunteer Max, 15. The stereotype of today's teenagers as anxious loners hunched over their phones is limiting and inaccurate, she said, as four fellow volunteers nodded in agreement. It's not that teens are cut off from real life. It's that so much is coming at them that it can be hard to know how to field it all. 'Being a teen is a time of huge responsibility, but with so little control and so little power,' Max continued. 'You're not the one making decisions about your education. You're not the one deciding where you live or what you're doing until you get to college, and there's so much pressure to succeed. ... We encourage them to think about their situation differently. We don't hand them a different set of cards, but we encourage them to approach it differently. And I think that's what teens need.' Teen Line isn't intended to be a replacement for long-term therapy or other necessary professional services, Didi Hirsch Chief Executive Lyn Morris said. But it can be a 'stepping stone' for overwhelmed young people who aren't sure where to turn or how to ask for help, she said. Members of every generation have complained in adolescence that adults don't understand them. But given the number of stressors that didn't exist until recently — social media, school lockdown drills, accelerating climate change — today's teenagers are very often justified in feeling that way. 'We don't have experience in that stuff,' Morris said. 'Thank God the teens have each other.' It's too soon to know how cuts to 988 and other services will affect Teen Line's caller volume. Volunteers said they're already hearing from people affected by recent policy changes. This includes teens who live in states that ban abortion and are worried that they might be pregnant, and those who tried calling the 988 suicide hotline but couldn't get through to any operators in their state. In the meantime, for adults concerned about the adolescents in their own lives, volunteers offered some sage advice. Before whisking the phone away from a teen who's too absorbed in their screen, ask what they're trying to distract themselves from. Listen to teens' opinions when they're moved to share them. And don't be afraid to say the hardest things out loud. 'Beating around the bush can be really suffocating,' said Jules, 17. 'Suicidal ideation, suicidal thoughts, self-injury, stuff like that — just not calling it for what it is can be really harmful. ... Just letting them get it off their chest, and not keep it in or be ashamed of their thoughts, can have a really big impact. You don't realize how much of a relief speaking and talking about it and being listened to can have.' If you're a young person in need of mental or emotional support, contact Teen Line by calling (800) 852-8336 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. PST; texting TEEN to 839863 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. PST; or emailing any time at
