ST GEORGE, Utah — Cases of Valley Fever have increased 62 percent in southern Utah as development disturbs soil containing the dangerous fungus.
The beautiful red hills of Ivins and much of southern Utah hide a dangerous fungus that is making more people sick.
Linda Sappington has seen Valley Fever move through her family. It was most severe for her daughter 23 years ago when she was pregnant.
“So eventually she was put on Life Flight and flown to Salt Lake because the doctor that she had been seeing said, ‘You’re dying,'” Sappington said. “She has since not recovered. I can’t use that term recovered because she’s still on medication and she will be for the rest of her life.”
Sappington herself also contracted the disease.
“I had an experience with Valley Fever as well. Just that mine came and went, and hers came and stayed,” she said.
Her granddaughter developed immunity in the womb, but her son’s mother-in-law in Santa Clara got Valley Fever five years ago and is still on oxygen.
“Valley fever is a fungal infection, and humans can get infected by inhaling fungal spores from dust and soil,” said Dr. Katharine Walter, an epidemiologist at the University of Utah.
The infection for most people is mild. Many might not even know they have it or receive a diagnosis. But some develop respiratory symptoms similar to flu or pneumonia, like coughing. In a subset of people, the fungal infection can spread to other parts of the body and become more serious.
David Heaton with the Southwest Utah Public Health Department said they saw Valley Fever cases increase 62 percent between 2023 and 2024 — from 45 to 73.
Walter says a lot of soil is being disturbed in the region due to development.
“People are increasingly moving to parts of the country like southern Utah, which are endemic for the fungus. We also think that development, this rapid development of what was previously relatively undisturbed Mojave Desert landscape, is leading to increased fungal exposures,” Walter said.
Walter says construction sites can help by spraying water to keep dust down. But in drought-ridden southern Utah, she said that isn’t as sustainable as conserving more land and doing more to protect and monitor the air.
While there is no cure for Valley Fever, southern Utah-based infectious disease expert Dr. Ginamarie Foglia said it can be treatable.
“There is an inherent risk here, although nothing to panic about because it is manageable,” said Foglia, a professor at the Rocky Vista University Ivins campus. “We do have antifungals, but like I said, 90 percent of people will have self-limited disease. It’s the 10 percent, and of that, the 1 percent of the 10 percent. And for that 1 percent, it’s no picnic.”
Sappington emphasizes the seriousness of the condition.
“Valley Fever is nothing to be light about,” she said.
