Infection may be asymptomatic or may produce an acute or chronic
disease. Although the disease initially resembles an influenza-like febrile
illness primarily involving the bronchopulmonary system, dissemination can occur
to multiple organ systems.
Clinical case definition
An illness characterized by one or more of the following:
Influenza-like signs and symptoms (e.g., fever, chest pain,
cough, myalgia, arthralgia, and headache)
Pneumonia or other pulmonary lesion, diagnosed by chest
radiograph
Erythema nodosum or erythema multiforme rash
Involvement of bones, joints, or skin by dissemination
Meningitis
Involvement of viscera and lymph nodes
Laboratory criteria for diagnosis
Cultural, histopathologic, or molecular evidence of presence
of Coccidioides immitis, or
Positive serologic test for coccidioidal antibodies in serum
or cerebrospinal fluid by:
Detection of coccidioidal immunoglobulin M (IgM) by
immunodiffusion, enzyme immunoassay (EIA), latex agglutination, or tube
precipitin, or
Detection of rising titer of coccidioidal immunoglobulin
G (IgG) by immunodiffusion, EIA, or complement fixation, or
Coccidioidal skin-test conversion from negative to positive
after onset of clinical signs and symptoms
Case classification
Confirmed: A case that meets the
clinical case definition and is laboratory confirmed.