In Arizona, valley fever, a disease caused by a fungus native to the region, remains a diagnostic challenge with potential health risks. A recent collaboration between Mayo Clinic and ASU has developed a rapid test aimed at improving detection of this disease, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix.
Before this breakthrough, individuals like Chris Sams suffered profound consequences from delayed diagnosis. Sams, who experienced severe weight loss and was eventually hospitalized, told FOX 10 Phoenix, “They didn’t know what was wrong. So not understanding the treatment or how to diagnose it was a big issue in the beginning.”
This difficulty stems from valley fever symptoms that are indistinguishable from other illnesses, such as COVID-19 or bacterial infections. It’s a reality that ASU’s Douglas Lake and Mayo Clinic’s Thomas Grys aimed to change when they co-founded Cactus Bio, as ASU News detailed…