PHOENIX – The valley fever infects thousands of Arizonans each year while the fungus thrives in this type of desert landscape.
Some have no idea that they have it, but for others, it could be fatal.
Mayo Clinic and Asu have developed advanced technology To help to retaliate and change how the infection is detected.
Local perspective:
“I have never even heard of that, I never thought twice,” said Chris Sams, whose infection started with a strange disease.
After losing 30 pounds, his family precipitated him in the hospital to get answers.
“They did not know what was wrong. He does not understand the treatment or how to diagnose, it was a big problem at first,” said Sams.
It was not until later that the doctors finally knew what was wrong with him. He had the valley fever.
It is a disease caused by a fungal organism that lives in Arizona soil.
When it was diagnosed, it was already serious. He finally spread to the spine and the Sams brain, causing lasting damage.
Dig more deeply:
“This can take an average of 23 days to make this diagnosis,” said Thomas Grys, director of clinical microbiology at Mayo Clinic of Arizona.
Why so long? He says there are several reasons.
Symptoms of the valley fever may resemble other respiratory diseases such as cocovid or bacterial infection. The valley fever tests also take several days, which leads to many erroneous diagnoses.
“If an urgent care or an urgent doc assesses you, he wants to make a decision today. They do not want to follow the results that could come back later. So, if they cannot obtain a result today, they will not order the test,” said Grys.
This is why Grys worked with the team to develop a quick test for the valley fever. It is similar to the rapid covid tests used during the pandemic, but with blood instead of a nasal sample.
A patient has a blood tube taken from a doctor or emergency office, similar to a standard laboratory test. Ten minutes later, there is an answer.
“The real thing is to find this answer earlier than 23 days, let’s hope it during this first visit,” said Grys.
Overview:
“We have this conversation today because of the Mayo clinic. Because I would not be there without them,” said Sams, holding tears.
He attributes to the Mayo clinic for saving his life. Eight years later, he still comes every two weeks for treatment.
He thinks this quick test will change their life.
“It will change life, and that’s what we need, who changes life,” he said.
What is the next step:
Grys says that this test also seems to work on animals. It is on the right track to be available for use later this year.
What you can do:
Click here To learn more about the test and its research.