Revelation 6:7,8 NCV When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill people by war, by starvation, by disease, and by the wild animals of the earth.
A new report is showing that a fungal infection called Valley Fever is up across the Southwest United States.
More than 22,000 cases were confirmed in 2011, a rise from 2,265 cases in 1998 according to the CDC. The report only looks at cases in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. Texas also houses the fungus that causes the disease but they do not report statistics to the CDC.
Arizona had the biggest number of cases (2 of every 3) along with the highest climb in cases. The state reported 1,500 official cases in 1998 and over 16,000 in 2011.
The disease cannot spread from person to person but does spread through the air which is why the fungus thrives in dry climates. The Coccidioides fungi live in the soil.
“Because fungus particles spread through the air, it’s nearly impossible to completely avoid exposure to this fungus in these hardest-hit states,” CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said in a statement. “It’s important that people be aware of Valley Fever if they live in or have traveled to the southwest United States.”
Not only in AZ & CA…Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico.
San Joaquin and Central Valleys of California
Southern Arizona (especially in the Phoenix and Tucson areas).
Southern parts of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Western Texas (especially around El Paso)
Mexico (in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua).
Also found in semiarid and arid soils of Central and South America.