Stephanie Innes

Rick Parker knew he had valley fever, but his doctors wouldn’t test him.

The California legislature approved a Wednesday bill requiring the public health department to develop public outreach programs for valley fever, a respiratory disease endemic to Kern County.

State senators will vote on a bill to enhance valley fever reporting guidelines and public outreach this week, to raise public awareness of valley fever in the southwestern United States.

Experts in social behavior and public health focus on raising the public's valley fever awareness.

Valley fever infects more than 13,000 people annually in Arizona and California, killing more than 100. Yet they spend less annually on public awareness.

Researchers say a canine vaccine against valley fever could be available within the next 10 years, and the work to save dogs from the disease could also further efforts to create a valley fever...

“Valley fever is almost certainly underreported, due to physicians and the public not being familiar with the disease,” said one infectious disease specialist. Reliable estimates of valley fever...

<p>A child's lifestyle, diet and genetics all play a role in their health, but the biggest obstacle to a child receiving good nutrition is socioeconomic.</p>