Cases of coccidioidomycosis, or Valley fever, jumped from 1.8 in 100,000 children in 2021 to 10.9 in 100,000 in 2024, a University of California, Los Angeles study found.
The study, published March 12 in Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, analyzed patient data from Jan. 1, 2000, to June 30, 2025, of pediatric patients who were treated at UCLA.
Researchers found that cases have skyrocketed in the last 25 years and have grown considerably in the last three years.
Among pediatric patients with Valley fever, more than 60% had no symptoms or very mild respiratory symptoms that cleared on their own.
In 25 years, the system treated 81 pediatric patients who had disseminated Valley fever. Of those, 72% had primary coccidioidomycosis and 28% had disseminated coccidioidomycosis. Of disseminated cases, 43% occurred between 2023 and 2025.
“Pediatric coccidioidomycosis at our institution has become increasingly common and increasingly severe, with a substantial rise in disseminated disease in recent years,” the authors said. “These trends emphasize the need for heightened clinical vigilance, early recognition of extrapulmonary disease, incorporation of a standardized classification system to guide evaluation, and proactive multidisciplinary management.”
A Pasadena-based Kaiser Permanente Southern California study, published March 13 in Pediatrics, found children without disseminated Valley fever had a median duration of 150 days of antifungal treatment.
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