Three revelers were taken to hospital with the fungal disease valley fever after attending the Lightning in a Bottle festival in California.
Valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis, is an infectious disease of the respiratory system caused by the Coccidioides fungus. Five festivalgoers in total were diagnosed with the bug.
The event, headlined by Skrillex, was held between May 22 and 27 at Buena Vista Lake, near Bakersfield in California's Kern County, and was attended by some 20,000 people. They have been advised to seek medical attention if symptoms develop.
"To date, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has identified five patients with valley fever who attended the festival; three were hospitalized," the department said in a statement on Monday. "Additional cases linked to attendance at the outdoor festival are possible."
Valley fever is caused by inhaling the spores of the fungus Coccidioides, which are found in soil and dust in certain areas, particularly in the southwestern United States, parts of Mexico, Central America, and South America.
People may breathe in the fungus when fungal spores are disturbed from the soil and become airborne, usually through activities like construction, farming, outdoor events like festivals, or even strong winds.
Newsweek has contacted Lightning in a Bottle via email for comment.
The fungus does not spread from person to person, and in most cases—around 60 percent—doesn't cause symptoms.
"While most people exposed to this fungus do not develop valley fever, the fungus can infect the lungs and cause respiratory symptoms," the CDPH said in the statement.
These symptoms include fatigue, coughing, fever, night sweats, and muscle aches. Symptoms can appear within one to three weeks after exposure. In very rare cases, the fungus can infect other areas of the body, causing something called disseminated valley fever, which is much more serious.
It may even lead to infection of the brain, or meningitis, which can be fatal. Individuals with weakened immune systems, older adults, pregnant women, and people of certain racial and ethnic groups, such as African Americans and Filipinos, may be more at risk.
"Recently in California, there have been more than 1,000 people hospitalized with valley fever each year, of which about 1 in 10 have died in the hospital," the CDPH said on their website.
There are about 10,000 valley fever cases reported in the U.S. annually, with roughly 70 percent coming from Arizona, and 30 percent California. Kern County, where the Lightning in a Bottle festival was held, is home to one-third of all cases so far this year, with 1,841 infections out of the total of 5,370. In 2022, California saw 7451 cases, 2407 of which were in Kern County.
Cases of the disease have increased in recent years, tripling between 2014—2018.
"Valley fever is on the rise in California, with particularly high numbers of cases reported in 2023 and 2024 and is most common in the San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast areas of California," the CDPH said in the statement.
This increase may be due to increases in drought conditions across the U.S. Southwest. While fewer infections occur during droughts due to the fungus's inactivity in the soil, cases increase when rain returns, as the fungus grows and releases spores.
Alternating dry and wet conditions create ideal conditions for the fungus, and cases are historically lowest during drought years and highest immediately afterward.
More frequent droughts due to climate change could lead to an increase in valley fever across more areas of California.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (SDC), it's tough to avoid breathing in the fungus in areas where it is present, but people can wear N95 masks in very dusty areas like construction or excavation sites, avoid activities like yard work and gardening, and use air filtration when indoors.
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