Doctor featured at SXSW talks Valley Fever, possible link between case increase and climate change

One of the doctors on the panel joined KXAN Monday ahead of the panel to give some insight into what Valley Fever is and some of the discussion topics covered at the panel

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Valley Fever, also called coccidioidomycosis, is a respiratory fungal infection that is known to live in the soil in the southwestern United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The infection has been spreading, and some experts say it's because of warming temperatures thanks to climate change.

This was the focus at the South by Southwest panel "Will Fungi Be the Last of Us?" The panel of infectious disease experts from industry, government, and academia discussed challenges posed by fungi, why fungal infections are becoming harder to treat, and more.

One of the doctors on the panel, John Rex, MD, FACP, and chief medical officer of F2G, joined KXAN Monday ahead of the panel to give some insight into what Valley Fever is and some of the discussion topics covered at the panel.

Listen to the full interview in the video player above or read a transcript — edited for clarity and grammar — below.

Dylan McKim, KXAN: Dr. Rex, I want to start here, explain to our viewers what is Valley Fever and how does one contract it?

Rex: Valley Fever is a fungal infection, and we're all familiar with fungi. Mushrooms... go out into the forest, you see things growing all along -- that's a fungus. There are 4 million different kinds of fungi but a tiny, tiny number of them and Valley Fever is one of them, cause infections in human beings.

Jennifer Sanders, KXAN: Okay, so symptoms commonly include coughing and fever. Are there any other signs though, Dr. Rex? And how can people be treated if they have this?

Rex: Well take the first part, you get this infection by inhalation [it] lives in the soil, dust. You breathe it in, and it starts off as a pneumonia. But actually, for most people, it's nothing. Most people have no symptoms. But those who do, they will have what feels like a chest cold, bad chest cold -- cough fever, maybe some fatigue, goes away on its own. For a tiny percentage, however it spreads to other parts of the body, and then it can do anything. Give you a headache, give you a swollen joint, all kinds of things are possible. But for most people really, if it's anything at all, it feels like a chest cold.

Sanders: And how can it be treated?

Rex: So we do have medications for it that we use, they are generally pills that you take for extended periods of time. And for most people that actually is satisfactory. The question of how to treat the more severe forms is something that a lot of us are still working on, the more severe forms can be very hard to treat. And so that's a big interest of medical research.

McKim: Let's talk a little bit about climate change. How is climate change impacting the spread of Valley Fever?

Rex: So Valley Fever, we used to think of it as the disease of the Desert Southwest: sort of California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, north/northwest Mexico. And then in 2013, something unusual happened, there was a case in Washington State. Never seen before, how did it get there? And the sense is that climate change is making a difference. Valley Fever grows in the soil when it's wet, and then it spreads when it gets hot and dry, and the soil gets disturbed. So you can imagine how changes in weather cycles, [they] could increase the range of the fungus. We think that's what's going on.

Sanders: You will be at South by Southwest this afternoon. What are some of the key takeaways that people will be taking away from this panel?

Rex: The panel this afternoon was sparked by the TV show 'The Last of Us' about a fungal pandemic. Lots of fun. It's a sci-fi story, okay. The way it's presented in the TV show, they took some bits that are true, turned it into a great story. It makes a great video game. But the theme of infections can change the way we live, and we learned that from COVID. You know, it's all a possibility. And so the idea of having an opportunity to raise awareness about fungal infections in particular is the focus of this panel.

Read more about the panel on the South by Southwest website.