Valley fever may be prevented and treated with Vitamin D

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Searched Valley Fever Survivor website Jan 2013 77 results for Vitamin D

above link dead but https://www.valleyfeversurvivor.com works as of Dec 2022

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Valley Fever in WikiPedia fungal infection, has the following map

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Those with Coccidioidomycosis were 80% more likely to be vitamin D deficient - Oct 2011

947. Evaluation of Vitamin D Levels in Patients with Coccidioidomycosis, a Case Control Study
Session: Poster Abstract Session: Clinical Mycology
Saturday, October 22, 2011, Room: Poster Hall B1, Handouts
Poster_947_IDSA_49_Evaluation of VitD in cocci_Arash_ Heidari.pdf (406.5 kB)

Background: Replacement of inadequate serum Vitamin D 25OH total (VitD) levels have been recently the focus of infectious diseases providers. There is a body of evidence that shows an association between low VitD levels and increase in incidence of several infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. However, to our knowledge there has been no study that evaluated the vitD levels in patients with Coccidioidomycosis.

Methods: Retrospective, matched case-control study in population ≥ 18 years old from 1990 to 2010 at Kern Medical Center with measured Vitamin D 25OH total levels in ng/ml. VitD deficiency defined as levels <20 ng/ml and levels between 20 and 30 defined as VitD insufficient. Total of 118 cases selected who had positive diagnosis of Coccidioidomycosis by serology (97%), pathology, or cultures (31%). From these cases 35%(42) had pulmonary and 65% had at least one from of dissemination. Mean age of cases was 42.8 with majority being male (63%). Ethnicity was 69% Hispanics followed by 17% African American and 14% Caucasians. Controls were selected from the general patient population without any history or evidence of Coccidioidomycosis infection. Cases and controls were randomly matched (ratio: 1 to 4) by age, race and sex and evaluated for demographics and co-morbidities. Analysis was performed by SAS JMP.

Results: Numerical analysis indicated that mean VitD level was statistically lower in controls (22.5 ng/ml) compare to cases (25.9 ng/ml); P=0.0016.The prevalence of VitD insufficiency (20≤VitD<30) was not statistically different between cases and controls; OR = 1.5 (CI95 (0.9, 2.5)) P=0.05. However, it was statistically higher in controls for VitD deficiency (VitD<20); OR = 1.8 (CI95(1.1, 3.1)) P=0.009. Logistical regression analysis showed Diabetes (DM) and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) as cofounders. Prevalence of DM OR=1.7 (CI95(1.1, 2.7)} P=0.004 and CKD OR=3.7 )CI95(1.8, 7.7)} P=0.0001 were statistically higher in controls compare to cases. After exclusion of DM and CKD from cases and controls no statistical difference between cases and controls for prevalence of VitD deficiency and insufficiency combined were found. OR=0.95 (CI95(0.6,1.5)} P=0.4.

Conclusion: There is no association between low vitamin D levels and Coccidioidomycosis

Arash Heidari, M.D.1, John Dickey, M.D.2, Nooshin Jahangiri, M.D.3, Bahareh Ghafarizadeh, M.D.2 and Greti Peterson, M.D.2, (1)Infectious Diseases, Kern Medical Center/UCLA, Bakersfield, CA, (2)Internal Medicine, Kern Medical Center/UCLA, Bakersfield, CA, (3)Family Practice, Kern Medical Center/ UCI, Bakersfield, CA
PDF is attached at the bottom of this page

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Valley fever prevalance increased 1.3X to 8X - Sept 2021

Valley Fever Is Spreading Through a Hotter, Drier Western US Wired

• "But they do know that pregnant people, the immunocompromised, African Americans, and Filipinos are especially at risk"
  • Note: All have low vitamin D
• "According to CDC data, reported valley fever cases in the US increased by 32 percent between 2016 and 2018. One study determined that cases in California rose 800 percent between 2000 and 2018."
• "US counties where valley fever is endemic have an average annual temperature above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and get under 600 millimeters of rain a year. “Essentially, they were hot and dry counties,”
• "...whether the disease would spread if humans continued emitting greenhouse gases business-as-usual. “Once I did that, I found that by the end of the 21st century, much of the western US could become endemic to valley fever,” she said. “Our endemic area could expand as far north as the US-Canada border" by the end of the century

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See also VitaminDWiki

• Pneumonia
• Overview Tuberculosis and Vitamin D
• Respiratory infections reduced by 63 percent with 4000 IU vitamin D daily - RCT Dec 2012

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See also web

• Delays in Coccidioidomycosis Diagnosis and Associated Healthcare Utilization, Tucson, Arizona, USA - 2019 FREE PDF, no mention of Vitamin D
• Valley Fever linked to vitamin D status? Vitamin D Council July, 2013, Worse for Blacks
  Valley Fever may have nothing to do with vitamin D levels, but given Occam’s Razor and vitamin D’s link to pneumonia, it’s a valuable clue.
• Death Dust long, interesting article, New Yorker, Jan 2014. +10 X increase in 1998-2011 (CDC). no mention of Vitamin D
• Incidence of 22 health problems related to vitamin D have doubled in a decade other diseases which have also increased in the past decade

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Comment by VitaminDWiki

Those with low vitamin D, including those with black skins, appear to be much more likely to get valley fever
Yes, probably some increase in # of reported cases just because people are more aware of the disease