Tests for Diagnosis or Prognostic Monitoring of Valley Fever

Valley Fever (VF), or coccidioidomycosis, is a systemic fungal infection caused by the fungus Coccidioides that is endemic to the Southwestern United States but can occur in other regions of the world. Roughly 40% of VF patients experience vague or flu-like symptoms and approximately 5-10% of patients, progress to a disseminated form of the disease with potentially fatal consequences. The incidence of VF has risen 6-fold since 1993. Because clinical symptoms of VF present similarly to other infectious diseases, accurate diagnoses are often delayed. Current laboratory diagnosis of VF is performed using ELISA, immunodiffusion and complement fixation tests using preparations of Coccidioides fungal lysates that vary in their seroreactive antigenicity, resulting in variability in patient positivity and prognosis.