A tragic loss in California has drawn attention to a disease most people have barely heard of: Valley fever. Chiranjeevi Kolla, a 37-year-old tech worker from India living in the Bay Area, died after battling the illness for a month, a case that is now making waves in the Indian community and beyond.
Chiranjeevi Kolla's Death: What Happened?
According to family and fundraising pages set up after his death, Kolla's illness started out innocently enough, with a cough and fever, similar to any common cold or flu. However, his condition took a sharp turn. Symptoms worsened quickly, and what doctors initially thought was pneumonia turned out, after further tests, to be Valley fever: a serious infection caused by inhaling spores of a soil-dwelling fungus found across parts of the southwestern United States.
Kolla is survived by his wife, Pavani, and their five-year-old son, Vihan. Family members shared the emotional toll this took on them, as his young son kept asking when Dad would come home. He was the main provider, making the sudden loss even more devastating.
Valley Fever: What Exactly Is It?
Valley fever, though common in certain parts of California and Arizona, barely registers outside those areas. It affects thousands each year, but most cases pass with mild or no symptoms. Some, however, can turn severe, just as Kolla's did.
Here is what we know about Valley fever and how to protect yourself if you live in or travel through risk areas.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Valley fever is caused by a fungus called Coccidioides, which grows in dry soil and desert climates. It is mostly found in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and some regions of Mexico and Central and South America.
The disease spreads when someone inhales dust containing the fungus, often when dirt is stirred up by wind, construction, farming, or digging. Valley fever does not pass from person to person. You only get it from breathing in contaminated dust.
What Are the Symptoms?
One major challenge with Valley fever is that it masquerades as a run-of-the-mill cold, bronchitis, or mild flu. Common symptoms include cough, chest pain, fever, fatigue, headache, and body aches. In some people, a rash or night sweats may also occur.
Many people never know they caught it because symptoms are mild and go away. But for others, the illness can escalate into full-blown pneumonia or even cause respiratory failure. Rarely, the infection escapes the lungs and spreads through the body, leading to a dangerous condition called disseminated coccidioidomycosis, which can be life-threatening.
Some individuals are especially vulnerable: older adults, pregnant women, anyone with a weakened immune system, diabetics, or people with chronic lung diseases face a higher risk of severe illness. Even so, sometimes healthy people like Kolla fall seriously ill as well.
Cases of Valley fever have risen sharply in places like California and Arizona in recent years, with experts pointing to climate change and more droughts as possible reasons. Warmer, dustier conditions spread the spores around more widely.
How to Avoid Valley Fever?
Most prevention comes down to limiting exposure to dusty air in high-risk regions. If you are in a dust storm, stay inside with windows shut tight. People who work in farming, construction, or digging should wear good masks, such as N95 respirators, to avoid breathing in dust.
You can also use air filters indoors, and if you have to dig, wetting the soil first can help keep dust down. People with weak immune systems should take extra care in the desert Southwest.
If you live in or visit these regions and end up with a nagging cough or mystery fever that does not clear up, do not brush it off as just a stubborn cold. Especially if you have been around dusty areas, it is worth talking to your doctor and asking about Valley fever.
