Valley fever could spread from Southwest, driven by climate change, researchers warn: 'New cases emerging'

For most people who are suffering from fever, cough and fatigue, the likely culprits are cold, flu or COVID-19. 

But for those living in the southwestern U.S., the symptoms could point to Valley fever — and some scientists predict that this illness eventually could spread to other regions. 

Named after the San Joaquin Valley in California, Valley fever is an infection caused by breathing in the spores of a fungus called Coccidioides, which originates in the soil. 

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Southern Arizona and Southern California have the highest volume of cases, per the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — but the disease is also prevalent in New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas and parts of Washington State.

As of 2019, Valley fever cases topped 20,000 nationwide, the CDC reported.

Reported cases tripled in that state between 2014 and 2018, according to the California Department for Public Health.

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Dr. George Thompson, a professor at UC Davis Health and co-director of the Center for Valley fever in Sacramento, told Fox News Digital about the ramp-up in cases. 

"We have seen a gradual increase in cases over the last five years, and a greater number of patients are coming into our clinic for diagnosis and treatment," he said.

While geographic location heightens the overall risk of contracting Valley fever, the CDC notes that certain groups are more vulnerable.

These include people 60 years of age and older; those who have weakened immune systems as a result of certain diseases or medical conditions; pregnant women; people with diabetes; and people who are Black or Filipino.

Symptoms of Valley fever tend to mimic those seen in patients with COVID-19, experts say.

"Some [people] may have a fever, chills or fatigue, or just feel generally unwell," Thompson of UC Davis Health said.

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However, he said he does see some severe cases where patients experience respiratory illness. 

Thompson estimated that for 1%-3% of people, the infection will leave the lungs and travel to other parts of the body — which can lead to meningitis. 

Although it’s rare, people outside the high-risk groups can experience severe effects from Valley fever.

On New Year’s Day in 2012, Rob Purdie of California, then 38, woke up with a terrible headache and nausea. 

"It felt like the worst hangover of my life — but I hadn’t had a single drink the night before," he told Fox News Digital. 

Doctors chalked up his symptoms to a sinus infection, but after two rounds of antibiotics, Purdie felt no better.

The next diagnosis was cluster headaches, yet a new medication didn’t help. 

When Purdie started experiencing double vision, he ended up in the Kern Valley ER. There, a spinal tap led to a diagnosis of meningitis caused by Valley fever. 

The spores of the fungus had spread from his lungs to his brain and nervous system, a potentially fatal condition.

That was just the beginning of years of medications and treatments, many with life-altering side effects, he said.

More than a decade later, Purdie lives with the lingering effects of disseminated coccidioidal meningitis caused by Valley fever. 

Every few weeks, he receives an antifungal treatment that is injected directly into his brain through a port in his head, he told Fox News Digital.

Today, Purdie works as a patient and program coordinator at Kern Medical’s Valley Fever Institute, the same facility that helped save his life. He is passionate about advocating for other patients, raising awareness of the disease and lobbying for public health and research funding.

In 2019, a study by Morgan Gorris — which was published in GeoHealth, a journal focused on environmental and health sciences research — suggested that climate change could trigger an expansion of Valley fever into northwestern states, including Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. 

"At first, I was skeptical," said Dr. Thompson of California. "But I’ve recently heard about new cases emerging in Nebraska and even Missouri, so I think it’s in the realm of possibility."

Valley fever cases are expected to arrive in northern Utah and eastern Colorado by 2035, according to the study. Gorris, the study's author, also predicts that the disease will become endemic in Nebraska, southeastern Montana, southern Idaho and South Dakota by 2065, and that it could arrive in northern Montana and North Dakota by 2095.

Other research has linked the rising Valley fever cases to an increase in dust storms. Another recent GeoHealth study by Daniel Q. Tong, a scientist and professor at George Mason University in Virginia, found that dust storms in the Southwest have risen by 240% between the 1990s and 2000s, followed by an 800% spike in Valley fever cases between 2001 and 2011.

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Purdie, for his part, believes that Valley fever could become more widespread amid changing climate patterns and population growth. 

"Valley fever likes undisturbed soil — so as people continue to populate more arid, dry and less developed areas, there will likely be more interaction with it," he said.

While there is not yet a vaccine for Valley fever, Dr. Thompson is optimistic about progress toward that goal. He pointed to three vaccines currently in development, including one that has been successfully tested with dogs. 

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, recently announced $4.5 million in funding to support research toward diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for the disease.

In the meantime, Thompson often treats Valley fever patients with antifungal medications such as Fluconazole and Itraconazole.

Since the fungus that causes Valley fever lives in the soil, infection is often "hobby-related," Thompson said. He said he sees many cases among people who are in archeology or who spend a lot of time outdoors. 

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For those in high-risk groups, the doctor recommends avoiding construction sites or areas where soil is often stirred up into the air. 

People can also wear an N95 respirator, a type of high-quality mask, to minimize exposure in dusty areas.

Thompson stressed the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. 

A blood test sent to a lab can confirm a current or prior infection of Valley fever, and a chest X-ray or CT scan can detect cases of pneumonia, according to the CDC.

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Britain’s health care system overwhelmed due to aging population, stagnant investment, COVID-19

In April 2021, Garry Cogan felt a slow, burning pain move steadily higher through his right arm. It was the start of a major heart attack that doctors warned could shave decades off his life without timely triple-bypass surgery.

Nearly two years later Cogan is still waiting for an operation from Britain's overwhelmed health service, one of millions to suffer as it buckles under the weight of an ageing population, a lack of investment and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"It's made me feel very uneasy in myself, very tentative about what I can and cannot do," said the 62-year-old warehouse worker from Colchester, southeast England, who has reduced his working week to three days out of fear he could trigger another attack.

He is one of a record 7.2 million people in England waiting for treatment in Britain's National Health Service, or NHS, built after World War Two to provide care for all, free at the point of use from the cradle to the grave.

Long a source of national pride, its decline now dominates the headlines in Britain and videos on social media show people being treated in corridors and waiting for hours on trolleys, while ambulances queue outside, unable to secure a bed in full emergency wards.

Britain's cardiology departments are a microcosm of the problems that have spread through the system. Staff shortages and years of stagnant investment are straining wards to their limits, with life-threatening consequences for patients.

Sonya Babu-Narayan, a practicing consultant cardiologist in London, described a "cardiovascular crisis" in Britain, with excess deaths due to cardiovascular disease remaining high after the pandemic, while deaths from cancer and other conditions had begun to fall back towards average trends.

The British Heart Foundation charity says full treatment after a heart attack should begin within 18 weeks but a third of patients are currently not being seen within that time. In November, around 8,000 people like Cogan had been waiting more than a year for heart treatment, up from a couple of dozen pre-pandemic.

Since the pandemic began, the combination of COVID-19 and the resulting disruption to care has meant an average of more than 230 people have been dying a week with heart disease than would normally be expected, the charity said, and rates have remained high even as deaths from COVID infection fall.

There are signs that after-effects of the pandemic are disrupting regular care and operations.

For example, for one specific heart condition, cardiomyopathy, four times as many people are being diagnosed only when they reach a hospital compared to before the pandemic, charity Cardiomyopathy UK has found, indicating the illness is not being spotted earlier at regular check ups.

When a heart attack happens, cardiologists say a patient needs to be in an ambulance in 18 minutes. At the time of Cogan's heart attack, the average wait time was 20 minutes. In December, the average ambulance wait time for such patients was 93 minutes, NHS data shows.

In response to a Reuters question about the excess death data and care delays, NHS England said cardiac patients were among the people waiting the longest for treatment, but that the number of patients waiting 18 months or more had fallen. In November, the number waiting 18 months was 44% lower compared to the same month in 2021, NHS data showed.

Teams were still trying to restore cardiac services to pre-pandemic levels, NHS England said.

"Covid has inevitably had an impact with fewer people coming forward for care," a spokesperson said.

Babu-Narayan said that as a result of the pandemic, patients stayed away from hospitals and family doctors, made fewer appointments and received less preventative care as a result. Pandemic disruptions to diagnosis and treatment, in addition to delays in emergency care, had an outsized impact on cardiological care, she said.

Shortfalls in capital investment before the pandemic, when the government embarked on a nine-year-long program of fiscal austerity, meant too few beds were available, she said. A cycle of staff shortages compounded the workload of doctors and nurses, in turn driving more to leave the service.

"We're skilled in what to do. We know how to help, but the hospital is full and there aren't enough of us," she said, describing the situation as personally deeply distressing.

In its defence, the government says it is pumping record investment into the health service - accounting for 40% of day-to-day government spending.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made fixing NHS England one of his priorities, and has described recent wait times as unacceptable, this week outlining a two-year recovery plan for emergency care.

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Heart Surgery Called Off

Admitted to Basildon hospital, 40 miles from home, after his heart attack, Cogan was diagnosed with severe coronary disease on the left side. The doctor told him an operation to bypass three clogged arteries should add 25 years to his life and could be carried out within six months.

The operation never materialised. More vague timelines came and went before he was finally given a date for January, 2023, 21 months after the original incident. Then, with just four days to go, the hospital told him it was cancelled, citing a lack of staff and beds.

At one point, Cogan even considered trying to make himself ill, by going for a run so he could "keel over" and be operated on immediately, he said.

He now has a new date for his operation, on Feb. 9, but he remains wary and must call the hospital on the morning of the surgery to ask if a bed is available: "That's the call you don't really want to make."

Cogan, waiting for his operation, said nurses or doctors - who were depicted affectionately during the opening ceremony of London's 2012 Olympics and applauded in the streets during the pandemic - had been very good when he had seen them. But he said the service was run chaotically.

Even in his condition, he struggled to get an appointment with his local family doctor or to get his medication. On one visit to his local Colchester hospital, staff could not find a working ECG machine to read his heart's electrical activity when he felt a twinge. The two hospitals disagreed over his priority level.

Neill Moloney, Deputy Chief Executive of the NHS Foundation Trust in charge of Colchester Hospital, said the hospital had apologised to Cogan for his experience in 2021, and had since "reviewed our procedures and made improvements."

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation trust, which runs Basildon hospital, said it had treated Cogan in order of clinical priority and that his surgery was scheduled for Feb. 9.

In line with the national picture, where people are turning up at hospital with more things wrong with them, or in a more serious condition, Cogan has also developed a hernia, which cannot be operated on until after his heart operation.

Beds, Staff And Cash 

In 2022 England and Wales recorded 45,000 deaths above the 2015-2019 average, making it the deadliest year by this metric since 1951, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Some 2.5 million people are also out of work due to long term sickness, with the lowest paid most affected, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The Bank of England has cited ill-health as one reason for a reduction in the size of the workforce.

It is too soon to know what impact long COVID and large waiting lists have on the workforce, the ONS said, but the government is investigating any link between long-term sickness and people quitting work.

The health service had been struggling long before the pandemic.

Growth in spending on health accelerated under the previous government of the Labour Party, contributing to the longest period of sustained real spending growth in NHS history, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.

And while health spending did not sharply decline when the Conservatives came into power in 2010, it plateaued, and IFS economist Ben Zaranko said Britain's aging population put extra pressure on NHS budgets.

"The NHS was gradually deteriorating in terms of its performance even ahead of the pandemic," he told Reuters.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, health spending as a share of UK economic output averaged less than 10% in the years leading up to the pandemic, compared with rates closer to 12% in Germany, which has 60% more doctors per head than in Britain.

Between 2014 to 2019, the number of British public hospital beds fell by 7% – the sharpest decline among the Group of Seven advanced economies - and The Health Foundation, a charity, estimates the NHS needs a further 103,000 staff to meet demand.

Such is the pressure that nurses went on strike this year for the first time in their union's 106-year history.

Analysts say that while recent additional funding could help pay staff more, it is not enough to transform the NHS, or prepare it for a future with an older population.

The Nuffield Trust think-tank has also found that the registration of doctors from the European Union slowed in the years after Britain's 2016 Brexit decision to leave the European Union, possibly exacerbating staff shortages.

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King's Fund, a charity that works to improve health outcomes, said the combination of structural problems and pressures from COVID means it could take a decade before the NHS hits its targets again.

"There is no short term fix here," he told Reuters.

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Fentanyl vaccine poised to be 'game changer' in fight against addiction

The end to the fentanyl crisis may be in sight, thanks to a team of researchers in Texas who claim they have successfully developed a vaccine that could be a "game changer" in addiction treatment.

A team led by the University of Houston has developed what they say is a fentanyl vaccine that can block the synthetic opioid from entering the brain — essentially curing addiction by eliminating the euphoric high.

"There’s no question about it. We developed something that’s a new game changer," Dr. Colin Haile, a research associate professor of psychology at UH and the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics (TIMES) told Fox News during a recent tour of the research facility.

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"It's a completely different strategy of treating an individual with opioid use disorder."

Their vaccine works in an entirely different way, said Dr. Haile, from other treatments for opioid use disorder and overdose deaths. 

It essentially produces antibodies much like other vaccines make those antibodies against a virus or bacteria. 

Dr. Haile’s vaccine does the same by blocking fentanyl from entering the user’s brain. 

Proteins are used to keep the drug in the bloodstream — then it is flushed out through the kidneys.

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"It's similar to the hepatitis B vaccine. The vaccine stimulates the body to make antibodies against fentanyl," Dr. Haile said, "and if an individual consumes fentanyl, those antibodies will bind to the drug and prevent it from getting into the brain."

He added, "Without the vaccine, fentanyl penetrates the brain quite readily, stimulates euphoric centers, and also can stimulate parts of the brain that control respiration, leading to overdose and death." 

Testing on lab rats and mice showed very promising results, said Haile, and he believes they will see the same findings once human trials begin in the coming weeks.

"We have done extensive studies in mice and rats and the effect of the vaccine was quite dramatic," he says. We demonstrated that, yes, the vaccine prevents fentanyl from penetrating the brain. It keeps it in the blood. And then the fentanyl is removed from the body."

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He believes the vaccine could be available to the public within two years, he said.

"Given that the vaccine is already made up of components that are already on the market and already have been tested in humans, we feel that when it comes time to submit our application to the FDA, we are hopeful that the approval process will be expedited."

Dr. Haile and his team began working on the vaccine nearly six years ago when an unprecedented rise in overdose death started to surface. The vaccine was developed from two protein strands already used in other vaccine treatments.

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have become the primary cause of overdose deaths in the U.S. and it’s estimated that over 110,000 occurred between August 2021 and August 2022 – a stunning record for a single 12-month period.

With over 150 people dying every day from overdoses of synthetic opioids, according to the CDC, the vaccine comes at a crucial time as the drug crisis grips the country.

"Unfortunately, starting about 10 years ago or so, the manufacture of fentanyl was increased, and it became much more part of the mainstream in terms of illicit drug markets, to see it first being part of the drug supply and more recently, just completely taking over for any other illicit opioid," Dr. Wilson Compton, deputy director with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which consults with Dr. Haile’s research team, said to Fox News. 

"So, heroin [use] is dropping in many parts of the country because fentanyl is cheaper, easier to smuggle, and produces the same brain effects."

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The vaccine development has been funded by the Department of Defense, where officials tell Fox News that backed the project after the need to address the prevalence of addiction among the families of many service members.

Dr. Haile points out that this vaccine would be best for those who have already undergone detox, as it will prevent relapses.

"This vaccine is for individuals that want to quit. It is not for individuals that do not want to quit," he says. 

"A vaccinated individual — if they do not want to quit their opioid addiction, they can take other drugs, other opioid drugs, or just other drugs that are vaccine antibodies do not target."

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People have already been contacting the team at the University of Houston asking to be added to the upcoming trials — something that Dr. Haile says underscores the need for this treatment.

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"We need this. We need this vaccine. And there's so many people that can be helped," he says.

"It needs to happen, and it will happen."

Fox News' Evan Goldman contributed to this report.

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Ultra-processed food consumption linked to higher risk of death from ovarian, breast cancers: new study

Diets high in ultra-processed foods may elevate the risk of developing and dying from various types of cancers, according to a new study from Imperial’s School of Public Health in London.

Ultra-processed foods include those that undergo extensive processing during production. Food such as packaged chips, breakfast cereals, many frozen meals, carbonated drinks, cold cuts, hot dogs, candy and more usually fall into this category. 

The study from the U.K. tracked the diets of 200,000 adults between the ages of 40 and 69 over a decade, using the NOVA food classification system to determine the level of food processing. Designed by researchers at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, NOVA groups foods into four groups: unprocessed, processed culinary ingredients, processed and ultra-processed.

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Researchers in London also looked at the frequency of cancer diagnoses and cancer-related deaths among that same group of adults.

The study found that people who ate a higher share of ultra-processed foods were more likely to develop cancers of all types — particularly ovarian and brain cancers. 

Those who did have the disease were also more likely to die from it, especially ovarian and breast cancers. 

The Imperial study noted that the link between ultra-processed foods and cancer persisted even after adjusting for factors such as physical activity, body mass index (BMI), socio-economic status, smoking status and alcohol consumption.

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The study found that for every 10% increase in eating ultra-processed foods, there was a 2% rise in the risk of developing any type of cancer. 

That risk jumped to 19% for ovarian cancer.

The same link was seen with mortality: Every 10% rise in consumption of ultra-processed foods boosted the risk of a person dying from cancer by 6%. 

The death risk spiked to 30% for ovarian cancer — and 16% for breast cancer.

"This study adds to the growing evidence that ultra-processed foods are likely to negatively impact our health, including our risk for cancer," Dr. Eszter Vamos, lead senior author for the study, said in a press release published on Imperial College London's website. 

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"Given the high levels of consumption in U.K. adults and children, this has important implications for future health outcomes," he also said in the same release. 

Any food that has been modified from its natural state — by adding salt, sugar, or oil, for example — is considered processed. 

Even so, many foods can still have beneficial nutrients.

Some examples of healthier processed foods include frozen and canned beans, fruits and vegetables, according to the American Heart Association.

Ultra-processed foods contain many added unhealthy ingredients, such as preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, hydrogenated fats and extra salt or sugar. 

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A study published in The BMJ, a medical trade journal, found that nearly 58% of the calories eaten by people in the U.S. come from ultra-processed foods.

High consumption of ultra-processed foods has previously been linked to dementia and colorectal cancer.

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An eye on postpartum depression, in light of Massachusetts mother tragedy: What to know

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

A Massachusetts nurse who will be facing charges in the deaths of her three young children ages 5, 3 and 8 months old in Duxbury, Massachusetts, has scores of people wondering why a mother of three would be at the center of a horrific tragedy. 

Lindsay Clancy, 32, was hospitalized last week after she appeared to attempt suicide by jumping out a window of the family home after allegedly injuring her three children that led to their deaths, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said last week, as Fox News Digital reported earlier. 

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The gut-wrenching incident has prompted speculation based on recent Facebook posts that Clancy may have suffered from postpartum depression (PPD).

Cruz, however, declined to say if this was a contributing factor in the tragic case.

Here is more about the condition known as postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a medical condition that occurs in many women.

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It can occur within one to three weeks after a mother gives birth to a baby, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The condition involves strong feelings of anxiety, sadness and fatigue that can last for weeks or months after a baby is born. 

In some cases, the feelings are so overwhelming that the parent cannot take care of herself or the baby and may even include suicidal thoughts, according to health experts. 

Approximately 1 in 8 women who recently had a live birth experience symptoms of postpartum depression, according to the CDC.

"Postpartum depression affects 10% to 20% of women in the United States and negatively influences maternal, infant and family health," Dr. Jayme Albin, PhD, a licensed psychologist and cognitive behavioral therapist in New York City, told Fox News Digital. 

Albin also said, "There are many contributing factors, which include prenatal depression, child care stress, prenatal anxiety and life stress." 

She said other factors can include the mother's social support system, her marital relationship or status, a history of previous depression, an infant's temperament, maternity blues and the family's socioeconomic status.

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Mental health experts told Fox News Digital that it is important for people to recognize the signs of postpartum depression. 

"Spouses or partners can do their part by paying attention to mood and behavior changes and responding by getting their partner the help that's needed, whether it's child care help, mental health help or social/emotional help," Albin told Fox News Digital.

Postpartum depression occurs not just in moms. It can also occur in the father of a newborn child, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). 

The 2019 guidelines established by the AAP regarding screening for postpartum depression discussed studies that showed that postpartum depression can be prevalent in as many as one in four fathers.

Because of this, the AAP suggested physicians should also include screening the partner as well as the baby's mother. 

"The six-month visit was chosen for screening because paternal depression was highest at three to six months postpartum," one author noted in a report regarding the guidelines posted in the American Academy of Family Journal.

The new AAP guideline specifies using the well child visits at ages one, two, four and six months to screen for postpartum depression — and as a venue for proper referral for treatment and immediate help if a parent demonstrates suicidal thoughts. 

"Sadly, there is no way to pinpoint who will be affected by postpartum depression," Christine MacInnis, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Torrance, California, told Fox News Digital.

"Every new mom can experience this because it’s related to so many factors. From extreme changes in the woman’s body, her hormones, becoming a mother and the immense responsibility of it — and when you add in sleepless nights, the chances of a new mom becoming completely overwhelmed, anxious and suffering from depression are high," said MacInnis. 

She is also the CEO and founder of Transcends Therapy in Torrance.

Many people undervalue the need for a new mom to get a decent night’s sleep while she's recovering from childbirth, said MacInnis.

"So spouses really do need to support this process by allowing the new mom to get as much sleep as she can and helping out in ways that are possible for them."

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Postpartum depression has been linked to a shorter duration of breastfeeding, incorrect medical treatment of the baby, greater risk of abuse or neglect, and potential adverse impacts on the baby’s brain development, the American Academy of Pediatrics says. 

The group also noted that infants who grow up with a mother who experiences significant postpartum depression are at risk for issues with social-emotional, language and cognition development.

Symptoms of postpartum depression, says the CDC, are similar to symptoms of depression.

However, they may also include crying more often than usual, feeling angry, feeling distant from the new baby, withdrawing from loved ones, feeling overly anxious and worrying, doubting one's ability to take care of the baby, and thoughts of hurting either self or baby. 

The condition is treatable with therapy — and in some cases medication — according to health experts. 

"For new moms, if you are feeling great distress, do not be afraid to ask for help. We need to normalize that this is a common occurrence and there is no shame for the mom to experience it," MacInnis told Fox News Digital.

As the Mayo Clinic explains on its website, "Some new moms experience a more severe, long-lasting form of depression known as postpartum depression. Sometimes it's called peripartum depression because it can start during pregnancy and continue after childbirth. Rarely, an extreme mood disorder called postpartum psychosis also may develop after childbirth."

The Mayo Clinic notes the following: "Postpartum depression is not a character flaw or a weakness. Sometimes it's simply a complication of giving birth. If you have postpartum depression, prompt treatment can help you manage your symptoms and help you bond with your baby."

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For Immediate help or if the situation is potentially life-threatening, call 911.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, you can also call or text 988 — or chat at 988lifeline.org.

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The number 988 is confidential, free and available 24/7. It connects those experiencing a mental health, substance use, or suicidal crisis with trained crisis counselors.

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