BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Valley Fever Institute at Kern Medical hosted its 10th annual Valley Fever Walk, bringing together survivors, families, and researchers to raise money and awareness about a fungal disease that continues to affect thousands in the Central Valley.
Bianca Torres, research coordinator at the Valley Fever Institute, said all money raised at the walk goes back to the institute to fund research and education efforts.
"So our research team is here to do our observational and clinical trials, and we're trying to bring more education and awareness to the patients here in Kern County."
Valley fever is caused by a fungus found in the soil, and according to the Valley Fever Institute, it is most common in the Central Valley and Central Coast. Symptoms can appear one to four weeks after exposure.
Torres explained how the disease spreads and why treatment is sometimes misunderstood.
"The valley fever is caused by a fungus called coxyoies, and it's found in the dirt, mainly in undisturbed land, and so it's so small and lightweight that it could be picked up by the wind, and it could be floating in the air. And people can breathe it in. And so because it's a fungus, people need antifungal medication. I think that's the one thing that people do get a bit confused. They don't know if it's a bacteria or a virus, different things treat different things, but this is a fungus that was treated with antifungals."
Dr. Shikha Mishra, infectious disease specialist at Kern Medical, said about 4,000 people were diagnosed with valley fever in 2024 — but the true number is likely higher.
"There are many who go unnoticed or undiagnosed as well. So the number that we have is only when they were confirmed. So still, we have a lot of unnoticed cases."
The number of diagnosed cases of valley fever has tripled in the last five years.
This year's walk marked the first time Cori Reiswig and her family participated. Her son was diagnosed with valley fever when he was 16 years old after attending a church camp.
"Did a camp with church and was out in the dirt and contracted valley fever and didn't get to start school when he should have missed the beginning of his sophomore year. It took about a year for his tier count to go down low to stop medication."
Reiswig said she hopes research will one day lead to a cure.
"We just hope and pray that as research goes on that he won't have a relapse, and if he does, there'll be better plans in place to treat that."
Valley fever survivor Izak Castellon attended the walk with his sister and said the event serves as more than just a fundraiser.
"It raises awareness for everybody that has had it or has had a family member that's gone through it. There's a lot of booths here that are here to support everybody, so I think that's really cool."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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