Hoodies Help Conquer Cocci (i.e. Valley Fever!)

Coccidioidomycosis (also known as Cocci or Valley Fever) is caused by a fungus that grows in dry soil in the Western United States. When the dirt is disturbed by a coyote digging up a rabbit hole, an earthquake, a ditch digging operation, or any other such activity, the disease-causing spores can become airborne. The spores are so small they can pass through a surgeon's mask and are of course invisible to the human eye. There is no way to know if you have breathed in one or more of the spores, and it only takes one.

Most people will never develop symptoms of disease, but for some the spores can cause pneumonia, skin lesions, meningitis, and other severe consequences up to and including death. You need to be aware of the risk if you live in an endemic area, but also as a visitor. You may be the one who breathes in a spore while driving south on I-5 in California, or changing planes in Phoenix, Arizona. You should know that sea lions and sea otters have died of VF along California's Central Coast. People have become ill from spores transported on items from an endemic region carried on a vehicle, clothing, or sales item.

Unfortunately, the available medical treatments can be as life threatening as the disease and can only help hold the disease in check. They cannot rid the body of the attacking fungal spores.

In 1995 when it appeared that promising research might produce a vaccine within just a few years, the Valley Fever Americas Foundation (VFAF) was formed to help ensure that funding would be found to support the research. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees in science, and the difficulties of finding an effective fungal vaccine tolerated by humans have so far placed that dream out of reach. The continuing research efforts have however resulted in two current projects which the VFAF has supported and will support in the future: a vaccine being tested in dogs, and a potential cure. Until that work can come to fruition, the only real defense against Valley Fever is awareness and early diagnosis.

We welcome your assistance in lessening the impact of this horrible disease by the purchase of a hoodie and wearing it where people can see and learn the symptoms shown on the back. Thank you for caring and best wishes to all who are fighting this disease.