CA SCR91

Designates August 2014 as Valley Fever Awareness Month in California.

Notes that Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis) infection rates in California and Arizona have risen 400 percent over the past 10 years, from 31 cases per 100,000 people in 1999 to 157 cases per 100,000 people in 2011.

Highlights that Valley Fever kills 100 to 200 more Americans annually than tuberculosis and disproportionately affects young people, the elderly, those with compromised immune systems, and individuals of African American and Filipino descent.

Emphasizes that California's severe drought conditions increase exposure risk to airborne fungi that cause Valley Fever, with infections rising significantly in Central Valley prisons.

References ongoing research efforts to develop a vaccine for Valley Fever, with funding partnerships approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor Wilson in 1997.