Valley fever strikes attendees of Kern County music festival

California wellness officials are urging group who attended nan Kern County euphony show Lightning successful a Bottle to activity aesculapian attraction if they are experiencing respiratory symptoms aliases a fever.

Authorities person identified 5 patients pinch vale fever who attended nan six-day event, which was held May 22-27 astatine Buena Vista Lake, adjacent Bakersfield. Three group person been hospitalized.

More than 20,000 group attended nan festival.

One attendee, connected a Reddit r/LightningInaBottle thread, said a show companion had been hospitalized for 2 weeks pinch “severe” vale fever.

“If you get unexplainable symptoms specified arsenic fever, chills, and headaches/neck pain,” nan personification wrote, “let nan doctors cognize it could beryllium vale fever, moreover though it’s been respective months.”

Valley fever is an infectious illness caused by nan coccidioides fungus, which grows successful nan ungraded and ungraded successful immoderate areas of California. It is astir commonly recovered successful nan San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast of California.

Health officials opportunity that astir group exposed to this fungus don’t extremity up processing nan disease, but it tin infect nan lungs and origin respiratory symptoms successful immoderate people, including cough, trouble breathing, fever and fatigue.

In uncommon cases, nan fungus tin dispersed to different parts of nan assemblage and origin terrible disease.

Valley fever is not contagious. Past outbreaks person been linked to particulate and ungraded vulnerability astatine outdoor events and occupation sites wherever ungraded is disturbed — successful areas of nan authorities wherever nan fungus is common.

Valley fever is connected nan emergence successful California, pinch peculiarly precocious numbers of cases reported successful 2023 and 2024. The fungus appears to flourish successful bedewed years.

A 2022 study successful nan aesculapian diary nan Lancet concluded that multiyear cycles of barren conditions followed by bedewed winters accrued transmission, particularly successful areas that were historically wetter. Climate alteration is expected to summation nan wave and long of drought passim nan Southwestern United States, perchance expanding nan prevalence of vale fever spores and fungus.

Kern County has nan highest incidence complaint successful nan state, and it accounts — connected mean — for astir a 3rd of nan cases.

State wellness officials opportunity that group who person visited Kern County successful caller months and are experiencing respiratory symptoms that person not improved aliases are lasting longer than a week should spot a healthcare supplier and inquire astir imaginable vale fever.

They besides impulse group to mention attendance astatine nan euphony show aliases recreation to Kern County.

Attendees tin sojourn nan California Department of Public Health’s valley fever study website for much accusation and to stock specifications astir immoderate illness.

Another Reddit user said they came down pinch nan illness 2 weeks aft returning from nan show to their location successful Colorado.

The euphony instrumentality described a “terrible” cough, headache, assemblage aches, fever and chills. The Reddit personification is not judge they’d spell again adjacent year.

“Don’t want to miss ... but I besides don’t want a fungal lung infection again. Yikes.”