San Joaquin Valley fever; Valley fever

Most people with this infection never have symptoms. Others may have cold- or flu-like symptoms or symptoms of pneumonia. If symptoms occur, they typically start 5 to 21 days after being exposed to the fungus. They include:

• Change in mental status
• Chest pain (can vary from mild to severe)
• Cough, possibly producing blood
• Fever
• Headache
• Joint stiffness and pain
• Loss of appetite
• Muscle aches
• Neck stiffness
• Night sweats
• Painful, red lumps on lower legs (erythema nodosum)
• Sensitivity to light
• Weight loss
• Wheezing

Additional symptoms associated with this disease:

• Ankle or feet swelling
• Enlarged or draning lymph nodes
• Joint swelling

For information on skin rashes associated with this infection, see: Skin lesion of coccidioidomycosis.

• Blood test to check for signs of coccidioides infection
• Bronchoscopy with lavage
• Complete blood count (CBC) with differential
• Chest x-ray
• Lymph node or lung biopsy
• Sputum culture
• Sputum smear (KOH test)

Images

Coccidioidomycosis - chest x-ray

Pulmonary nodule - front view chest X-ray

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Coccidioidomycosis Overview

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Coccidioidomycosis Treatment

Review Date: 09/15/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)