TUCSON, Ariz. (Nov. 12, 2025) – This is Alejandra Lee’s first Valley Fever Awareness Week. The California native has spent the last two decades in Arizona but until the last few months, Valley Fever wasn’t really on her radar.
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t just say this was going away,” Lee said about her symptoms that appeared this summer and steadily got worse. “I really want to do this but in order to get better, I have to get better. I have to figure out what’s wrong. You just have to find the right doctors.”
The healthy 55-year-old Tucson woman first started feeling tightness in her chest, then fatigue after workouts. But after a trip, her symptoms led her to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and a partially collapsed lung. All signs of what was to come.
Even after imaging and additional testing it took another month – and more antibiotics and breathing treatments – before she was retested for Valley Fever. She has been in treatment the last several weeks.
As Arizona marks its 23rd Annual Valley Fever Awareness Week, major milestones have been reached in identifying the serious fungal disease sooner with Banner Health’s innovative technology and expanded clinical protocols.
Research has made some critical strides while education of the illness continues to expand and more cases are reported each year.
Valley Fever Awareness Week runs through Nov. 16 in Arizona.
“We have come a long way in diagnosing Valley fever and have made incredible progress in treatments,” said John Galgiani, MD, director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence at Banner University Medical Center Phoenix and Tucson. “We are very close to giving so many people real relief from this awful disease.”
Valley fever is an infection caused by inhaling microscopic spores of the Coccidioides fungus found in the soils of Arizona and elsewhere in the Western United States. It poses year-round risks but especially when ground conditions dry out so that spores can become airborne. November is frequently a peak period for new infections in Arizona which is why the Awareness Week is scheduled now.
Reported cases to the CDC show that about two-thirds of all Valley fever infections in the United States are in Arizona.
“With that many, you would think that physicians and the community at large would be aware of this disease,” Dr. Galgiani said. “Surprisingly, this does not turn out to be the case. Valley fever is often the cause of pneumonia in Arizona but physicians don’t often test pneumonia patients for Valley fever.”
Banner Urgent Care has implemented enhanced testing protocols, including testing all pneumonia patients for Valley fever unless another cause has been determined.
Valley fever symptoms range from mild to severe and can include:
- Fever and fatigue
- Persistent cough and chest pain
- Skin rashes
- Joint pain and muscle aches
- Respiratory symptoms
In severe cases, the disease can progress to acute respiratory failure, lung nodules, lung cavities, and infections beyond the lungs, including meningitis.
While attention to the disease increases during dust storm season in the summer, the spores do not take a vacation in winter. November is frequently a peak period for new infections in Arizona which is why the Awareness Week is scheduled this month.
“Valley fever can occur all year round but is especially likely when the ground dries out and those fungus spores get into the air,” Dr. Galgiani said. “Anyone can get Valley fever, including children, and knowing that it occurs here in Arizona is key to early detection and treatment.”
Fortunately, most infected individuals recover whether treated or not with antifungal drugs although it frequently takes many weeks, even months, to run its course. After recovery, patients are immune from future infections for life. A vaccine, discovered at the Valley Fever Center and now in development by Anivive Lifesciences, may do the same thing soon for dogs and eventually for humans.
“Be aware, listen to your body and don’t push yourself,” Lee said this week. “Because there are times when you think, ‘Okay, I can do this,’ and I want to go for a little jog, and I start getting winded. Listen to your body, pay attention to the signs.”
For more information about Valley fever, visit vfce.arizona.edu. For Banner Urgent Care locations and hours, visit bannerhealth.com/urgentcare.
About Banner Health
Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country and a leader in provider-sponsored health insurance serving 3.5 million people annually across six states. With 33 hospitals and more than 450 additional care sites, Banner’s array of services includes a health insurance division, employed physician groups, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care locations, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies, stand-alone imaging centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation, behavioral health services, a research division, and a nursing registry. Through its longstanding, innovative relationship with the University of Arizona, Banner’s academic medicine division provides ground-breaking clinical discoveries, advanced life-saving care and educates 1,300 physicians annually. Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, a partnership with one of the world’s leading cancer programs, MD Anderson Cancer Center treats more than 103,000 patients a year. Banner Plans and Networks offers Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial health coverage to more than 1.2 million members. In 2024, Banner Health provided $1 billion worth of community benefits to assist those in need through a range of programs. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health also has locations in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com.
About The Valley Fever Center for Excellence
In 1996, the Arizona Board of Regents established the Valley Fever Center for Excellence, now part of the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine-Tucson, in order to address the problems caused by the fungus, Coccidioides, the cause of coccidioidomycosis. Two-thirds of all Valley fever infections in the United States occur in Arizona, mostly in the urban areas surrounding Phoenix and Tucson. The center is funded by philanthropic, tax-deductible donations. More information about the Center can be found at vfce.arizona.edu.