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From: fjpls@mtuxn.UUCP (P.STEVENS)
Newsgroups: net.med,net.followup
Subject: RE: Viral infections (San Joaquin Valley Fever)
Message-ID: <626@mtuxn.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 22-Aug-85 11:37:48 EDT
Article-I.D.: mtuxn.626
Posted: Thu Aug 22 11:37:48 1985
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Newsgroups: net.followup,net.med
Subject: Re: Viral infections (San Joaquin Valley Fever).
Reply-To: fjpls@mtuxn.UUCP (01275-P.STEVENS)
Organization: AT&T Information Systems, Freehold, New Jersey
Keywords: 
In article  paul@phs.UUCP (Paul C. Dolber) writes:
>
>>  ....
>Coccidiodomycosis (aka "valley fever" or "San Joaquin [Valley] fever")
>is indeed a fungal infection, acquired by inhalation of Coccidioides
>immitis (in dust, esp. in SW USA and Chaco district of Argentina).
>> ...

This fungus is even more insidious then you can imagine. Several years
ago my mother had an operation to remove a growth (tumor?) from her lung.
The doctors found that the growth was caused by a fungus found only in
one of the valley areas in California (probably San Joaqin but I can't
be certain now)! What is so insidious is THE LAST TIME MY MOTHER HAD BEEN
TO CALIFORNIA WAS > 15 YEARS PREVIOUS. Apparently you can inhale the fungus
and it can just hang around inertly in your body till it makes up its
mind to do something nasty (maybe never). WHAT A TIMEBOMB!

The doctors said that there are also a couple of other equally nasty
fungi which frequent other regions of the country. Given my mother's
problem, I wonder whether the population of those regions know the
danger. Try not to thing too hard about it - it will keep you up at night.

Paul Steven - mtuxn!fjpls