A study published in The Lancet Regional Health describes coccidioidomycosis seasonality in endemic regions of California and characterizes important drivers of disease transmission. Background Coccidioidomycosis is a respiratory disease predominantly caused by the fungal species Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii. The disease is rapidly emerging in the southwestern US, as evidenced by a nearly twofold increase in annual reported cases across the United States and a more than threefold increase in California since 2014.
A few previous studies suggest that coccidioidomycosis incidence has an unimodal seasonal pattern, with a peak mostly observed in October. Some epidemiological studies suggest that wet, followed by dry climate conditions facilitate the transmission of coccidioidomycosis. In this study, scientists have characterized the seasonality of coccidioidomycosis across endemic counties in California and determined the association between drought conditions and coccidioidomycosis seasonal periodicity and timing.
The scientists characterized seasonal patterns of coccidioidomycosis incidence by analyzing disease surveillance data in California between 2000 and 2021. They determined the effect of drought conditions on county-level seasonality by analyzing high-resolution temperature and precipitation anomaly data. Important observations A total of 89,281 cases of coccidioidomycosis were reported across 17 counties from 2000 to 2021.
The annual incidence in 2,00.