Officials Warn of Rising Incidence of Valley Fever : Health: County officer reports 47 cases of the mysterious malady this year at a forum intended to increase awareness.

The number of Ventura County residents sick with valley fever has jumped dramatically in the past two years, health care officials said Friday at a forum intended to increase awareness of the mysterious and sometimes fatal disease.

As of Nov. 1, 47 cases of valley fever had been reported to public health officials this year, said Dr. Paul Russell, the county’s acting health officer. That is on pace with 1992, when 60 cases of the malady that causes flu-like symptoms were reported, he said.

There were just seven cases in each of 1991 and 1990, Russell said. Still, the number of cases in Ventura County lags far behind that of Kern County, where 6,251 people have come down with the illness in the first nine months of this year, costing nearly $31 million in medical treatment, officials said.

“It is not an epidemic in Ventura County,” Russell said. “But it is good for the public and doctors to be aware of the symptoms of this disease so it can be treated early.”

About 50 people, including doctors, nurses and those stricken with valley fever, attended the three-hour forum put on by the Southern California Institute of Law in Ventura.

The purpose of the event was to inform health-care workers and the public about identification, treatment and prevention of the disease, said organizer Barbara Thorpe.

Valley fever has probably been around for centuries, but the first case was not documented until 1892, said Dr. Hans E. Einstein, a professor at USC Medical School. It is caused by a fungus that grows in dirt and becomes airborne when the soil is disturbed, he said.

People contract the ailment by inhaling dust containing the spores, he said, but it is not contagious.

Experts believe that recent outbreaks in Kern and Ventura counties are tied to environmental conditions--years of drought followed by plentiful rain--that have allowed the fungus to flourish.

The disease can be tricky to diagnose because in most people the symptoms are mild and the illness passes with no long-term effects, Einstein said.

Most people get a low-grade fever and a persistent cough, he said. Others, particularly women, display painful red welts on their shins. With treatment, the vast majority recover in less than a month, Einstein said.

But in about 1% of patients, the infection moves from the lungs to other parts of the body, where it can be deadly, Einstein said. It is those patients who benefit the most from early detection, when the illness can be treated with drugs.

For unknown reasons, African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians and pregnant women are at higher risk for developing complications, he said. People with immune-system problems, such as those with HIV or AIDS, are also at higher risk.

About 50% of those in which the disease progresses eventually die from meningitis, Einstein said.

There is little one can do to prevent contracting valley fever, which most often strikes people who work near disturbed dirt, such as construction and agricultural workers, said Frank E. Swatek, a professor of microbiology at Cal State Long Beach.

The best thing people can do is wet down blowing dust or wear a full-face mask when working in an open field, he said.

Wayne Pyatte doesn’t know how he contracted valley fever. The 31-year-old Thousand Oaks resident said he started coughing up blood late last year.

Doctors first tested him for tuberculosis. It was four months before they arrived at a correct diagnosis and began treatment, he said. He is taking drugs to combat the infection in his lungs and is expected to recover, Pyatte said.

But other people might not be so lucky. Pyatte attended the forum to increase his knowledge of the disease, and he hopes other will do the same.

“We need something like this,” he said.