Kern County Oil Drilling Linked to 12.5% Rise in Valley Fever Risk
Valley fever is expanding into urban areas of California's Central Valley, with new research linking proximity to oil drilling and rodent burrows to increased infection rates. UC Berkeley professor John Taylor warns that the Coccidioides fungus thrives in rodent habitats, while postdoctoral fellow Lisa Couper finds that living within three miles of new wells in Kern County raises infection risk by 12.5%. The disease, which can be fatal, is spreading as construction disturbs soil, prompting calls for stricter safety measures and buffer zones.
