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California Valley Fever Surge Puts 2025 on Pace to Top 2024 Record

State health leaders link rising infections to climate-driven soil conditions.

Image
File photo: a woman tends to her husband who is suffering from Valley Fever in California.
Muted backlit silhouette of two tractors raking soil in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
The fungus that causes Valley Fever, sometimes called coccidioidomycosis or “cocci,” develops in the soil in various areas of California and other southwestern states.

Overview

  • California logged 6,761 provisional cases through July 31, above the 10-year average for that date and slightly higher than last year’s pace, with totals typically rising as delayed reports are added.
  • After a record near-12,500 cases in 2024, increases this year are extending into the northern Central Valley and Central Coast, including a jump in Monterey County from 47 cases in 2023 to roughly 348 so far.
  • Researchers attribute the surge to drought–wet winter–dry summer cycles and broader climate trends that favor fungal growth and dustborne spread.
  • Because symptoms can mimic flu or COVID, experts estimate true infections may be 10 to 18 times higher than reports, and officials urge testing after a week of cough, fever or breathing trouble following dusty exposure.
  • About 1,000 Californians are hospitalized each year and roughly 10% of those hospitalized die; the illness is not spread person-to-person, and risk can be reduced by staying indoors during wind, using recirculated car air, wetting soil and wearing a well-fitted N95.