Assessment of Climate Variability to Incidence of Coccidioidomycosis

Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley Fever, is a fungal infection that is endemic in the southwestern United States, particularly prevalent in Arizona and California. Incidence of this infection has been rapidly increasing during the past decade. Coccidiodomycosis is naturally occurring in the soil and possibly linked to changes in the environment. The goal of this presentation is to indentify the links of climate variability to the occurrence of coccidioidomycosis. The results presented will explore the county-level vulnerability in Arizona and California and determine the links to climate variability. The next step will show the link of historical soil moisture data to the reported incidence of coccidioidomycosis in Arizona and California from 2002-2014. The results of this work will help public health officials better monitor and forecast the occurrence of this pathogen in a changing climate.