Valley fever in California: Climate change could lead to more fungal infections

Valley fever fungal infections are on the rise in California as climate change leads to drier summers and wetter winters. Scientists are studying whether wildfires also play a role.

Brynn Carrigan’s headaches started in April 2024. Within a couple of weeks, she was debilitated.

Her vomiting exacerbated the excruciating pain in her skull. She spent nearly every hour in bed with the covers pulled over her head, blocking out any sliver of light. Even the clock on her microwave was too much. 

“I went from training for a marathon, raising two teenagers and having a job to essentially being bedridden,” said Carrigan, 41, of Bakersfield, California, who works for Kern County Public Health.

Her condition continued to get worse and doctors couldn’t provide answers — until her third visit to the hospital, when one doctor asked her if she’d had any respiratory symptoms before the headaches started.

She had. About a month before the headaches started, Carrigan had what she thought was a typical cold — though she recalled that her cough lingered a bit longer than normal and she went on to develop a rash on her thighs. Both symptoms got better without treatment.