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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staff- Environmental exposure. Anyone who inhales the spores that cause valley fever is at risk of infection. Some experts estimate that up to half the people living in areas where valley fever is common have had the disease. People who have jobs that expose them to dust are most at risk — construction, road and agricultural workers, ranchers, archeologists, and military personnel on field exercises.
- Smoking. Smokers, especially those with scarring and thickening of lung tissue (pulmonary fibrosis), are at higher risk of valley fever and subsequent chronic pneumonia than are nonsmokers.
- Race. For reasons that aren't well understood, Filipinos, Hispanics, blacks and Asians are more susceptible to developing serious infection with coccidioidomycosis than are whites.
- Pregnancy. Pregnant women are vulnerable to more serious coccidioidomycosis in the third trimester and right after their babies are born.
- Diabetes. Valley fever infection may be more severe among people with diabetes.
- Weakened immune system. Anyone with a weakened immune system is at increased risk of serious complications, including disseminated disease. This includes people living with AIDS or those being treated with steroids, chemotherapy or anti-rejection drugs after transplant surgery. People with cancer and Hodgkin's disease also have an increased risk.
- Age. Older adults are more likely to develop valley fever than younger people are. This may be because their immune systems are less robust or because they have other medical conditions that affect their overall health.
