1212Coccidioides Exposures and Coccidioidomycosis among Prison Employees in California

Coccidioides Exposure and Coccidioidomycosis among Prison Employees, California, United States

Responding to a request by corrections agency management, we investigated coccidioidomycosis in prison employees in central California, a coccidioidomycosis-endemic area. We identified 103 cases of coccidioidomycosis that occurred over 4.5 years. As a result, we recommended training and other steps to reduce dust exposure among employees and thus potential exposure to Coccidioides.

Etymologia: Coccidioides

Nevertheless, reducing dust is a reasonable risk-reduction strategy for addressing occupational coccidioidomycosis. On the basis of our findings, we recommended that prison management weigh the advantages and disadvantages of various environmental mitigation efforts to reduce dust exposures. Our recommendations included providing employees with education and training about coccidioidomycosis sy...

Rates and Risk Factors for Coccidioidomycosis among Prison Inmates, California, USA, 2011

In California, coccidioidomycosis is a disease acquired by inhaling spores of Coccidioides immitis, a fungus found in certain arid regions, including the San Joaquin Valley, California, USA, where 8 state prisons are located. During 2011, we reviewed coccidioidomycosis rates at 2 of the prisons that consistently report >80% of California's inmate cases and determined inmate risk factors for pri...

Coccidioidomycosis Among Cast and Crew Members at an Outdoor Television Filming Event — California, 2012

In March 2013, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) identified two Doctor's First Reports of Occupational Injury or Illness (DFRs) regarding Los Angeles County residents who had worked at the same jobsite in January 2012 and had been evaluated for possible work-associated coccidioidomycosis (valley fever). Occupational exposure to Coccidioides, the causative fungi, typically is ass...

Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis Among Children in Central California: A Retrospective Review