KQED Cases of valley fever — a lung infection that can cause severe sickness in some people — are rising across California. And state health officials said they’re seeing an increasing number of cases of the disease reported outside the Central Valley and Central Coast areas where valley fever is traditionally most common — including cases in Bay Area residents.
In the first half of this year alone, more than 5,300 people in California have caught valley fever — including five people who contracted the disease after attending the Lightning in a Bottle music festival outside Bakersfield, according to the California Department of Public Health. These cases “occurred among people who traveled through Kern County, California, to attend the outdoor music festival,” officials said.
Three of the festivalgoers were hospitalized with the condition, which is not contagious. More people among the 20,000-plus attendees at the festival may have been affected.