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Valley fever can be tricky to diagnose. This ASU lab is trying to establish a better method

The DNASU Plasmid Repository at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute is testing new methods for diagnosing Valley fever more quickly and accurately.

TEMPE, Ariz. — Fewer cases of Valley fever were reported last year in Arizona but scientists are hoping that a multi-year research project will result in a more accurate and timely method for diagnosing the illness.

More than 9,500 cases of the fungal disease were diagnosed in 2022 –  which is a 17% drop from the year before –  after Arizona experienced a notable spike in annual cases in 2019 and 2020.

The illness is known for being difficult to diagnose and its symptoms can turn fatal for some. At least 75 deaths related to Valley fever were reported in Arizona last year, according to the health department.

But researchers are now working on developing a method for diagnosing Valley fever that could result in patients getting the right treatment faster. 

The DNASU Plasmid Repository at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute is currently in its third year of a four-year project that aims to identify whether a patient has the antibodies to fight Valley fever.

“Sometimes it takes one to three months to test for Valley Fever and so the disease progresses for a while,” said Mitch Magee, an assistant researcher at DNASU. “We want to be able to diagnose the disease fast, but that means that we have to educate doctors that there is better testing available.”

Valley fever is contracted by inhaling microscopic fungal spores in soil found throughout the southwest. Since the disease's symptoms are similar to other illnesses, patients can be treated for the wrong ailment before the disease is properly identified.

The project's results could improve diagnostic methods and ultimately help lead to the development of a human vaccine to protect Arizonans from the illness, DNASU officials said.

More information about the work being done at DNASU can be found here.

Credit: Arizona Department of Health Services
Map displaying where cases of Valley fever were reported throughout Arizona in 2022.

*Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast*   

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