An increase in seasonal agricultural work and the end of the school year in the San Joaquin Valley are expected to mean more people spending more time working and playing outside – and potentially increase the risk of Valley Fever, a fungal disease that can create respiratory problems in people who inhale its spores.
It’s also a disease for which there is no vaccine to help protect people from its effects.
Through the first three months of 2026, more than 1,200 confirmed or suspected cases of Valley Fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis, have been reported across Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties. Cases in the San Joaquin Valley represent more than half of all cases reported in California in the first quarter of the year…