Press Releases
|
 |
Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September 13, 1999
Genes Can Affect Severity of Valley Fever
Genetic factors may mean that, if they get Valley Fever, African-Americans may be at
higher risk for severe illness than Hispanics or Caucasians.
ATLANTA—Compared with Caucasian men, African-American men have 28 times the risk
for severe "disseminated" illness—illness that spreads outside the
lungs—if they become infected with Valley Fever, which is usually a mild, flu-like
illness. Genetic factors are thought to play a role in this higher risk, according to an
article in an upcoming issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, CDC's peer-reviewed journal,
which tracks new and reemerging infectious diseases worldwide.
Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis) is a fungal disease that is spread through the air.
In the United States it is common only in dry areas of the Southwest. People can become
infected if they inhale spores of the fungus; for example, infections increased in
California because of landslides and dust clouds after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
About 60% of infected people have no symptoms, but about 10% of people who do become ill
have more severe forms of the disease.
The authors studied Valley Fever patients in California and compared the number of
African-Americans, Hispanics, and Caucasians with mild and disseminated illness. They
found that for all three ethnic groups, a higher risk for disseminated illness was linked
to a certain genetic factor involved in the immune system. However, each group had a
different genetic factor that was tied to lower risk. No difference in ABO blood type was
found for African-Americans or Caucasians, but Hispanics with blood type A were at higher
risk for mild or severe disease. Identifying the genes that influence the risk for
disseminated Valley Fever can help prevent severe disease.
For more information, contact Dr. Leslie Louie at 510-643-0719. Access the full article
at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no5/louie.htm. All material in Emerging
Infectious Diseases is in the public domain and may be used without special permission;
proper citation, however, is appreciated.
For more information on this or related topics, see—
|
