Coccidioidomycosis Among Cast and Crew Members at an Outdoor Television Filming — California, 2012
Anita Gore
Deputy Director, Office of Public Affairs
California Department of Public Health
(916) 440-7259
Workers, employers, and medical providers
should recognize that employees can be exposed to Valley Fever even if they are
not directly engaged in soil disruptive work. In 2012, more than
4,000 Californians were diagnosed with Valley Fever, a potentially serious
disease caused by inhaling fungal spores common in Central and Southern
California. Occupationally acquired Valley Fever most often occurs in people
whose work involves digging or working in soil, such as construction workers,
military personnel, or archaeologists. However, this study highlights Valley
Fever in a group of workers whose occupations do not typically put them at risk
of Valley Fever exposure. —The study reports on several members of the cast and
crew of a popular TV series who became ill shortly after filming outdoor scenes
in Ventura County. Workers, employers, and medical providers should be aware
that employees working outdoors in Coccidioides (a fungus that lives in
soils)prevalent areas might be exposed to Valley Fever from recent soil
disturbances or windy conditions, even if they are not working in the soil.
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