Festival-goers in California unknowingly kicked up invisible spores of a dangerous fungus while dancing in the dust during revelry.
Airborne soil pathogens sneakily made their way into the lungs of at least five Buena Vista attendees.lightning “In a Bottle” music festival.
All three were seriously ill and hospitalized with “valley fever,” a disease endemic to the southern San Joaquin Valley caused by two species of Coccidioides bacteria that grow as a mold in soil or mud.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is concerned that the festival may result in even more undiagnosed cases.
The festival, which drew more than 20,000 attendees, took place in May at Lake Buena Vista in Kern County.
Most people who inhale the fungus’ spores do not develop valley fever, but in rare cases the pathogen can infect the lungs, causing fatigue, fever and difficulty breathing, and some may cough up blood.
Most people with valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis or staphylococcus aureus, recover without treatment, but in severe cases symptoms can last for months or years. The infection can spread from the lungs to other parts of the body. There is no known cure, and people are at risk of paralysis or death.
CDPH is investigating cases of valley fever linked to the Lightning in a Bottle festival, which took place in Kern County from May 22 to 27. Although the event occurred two months ago, those with longer-term or more severe illness may still be symptomatic or may not have been diagnosed.
📲https://t.co/sfyc5MeLKM. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/C1RxKAhEkt
— California Department of Public Health (@CAPublicHealth) July 30, 2024
In 2019, 190 people were diagnosed with cocci infections of the skin, bones and brain in California, significantly increasing the risk of death.
“Past valley fever outbreaks have been associated with exposure to dust and soil at outdoor events or work sites where soil is disturbed in areas of California where valley fever is common,” California Department of Public Health officials wrote.
Fortunately, valley fever cannot be spread from person to person, but despite not being contagious, the number of people who fell ill with valley fever between 1998 and 2015 was Coccidioides Bacteria increase 400 percent.
In California alone, it has been reported that between 2000 and 2022, valley fever cases have skyrocketed by 800 percent.
In 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published a study linking the increase in these cases to a doubling of dust storms in the Southwest.
“I can’t think of any other infectious disease that’s so intimately intertwined with climate change,” Rasha Klan, an immunologist at the University of California, San Luis, told The Washington Post in 2023.
In 2024, one month after the “Lightning in a Bottle” music festival, Kern County experienced its driest June in 130 years. This came after a historic storm that caused widespread flooding in the region.
Experts say that such a wet winter can encourage the growth of mold and its spores. Then, when the weather dries out, these spores are released from the damp soil and become airborne along with dust.
The May incident in Karnes County occurred over Memorial Day weekend, the perfect time for the coccus spores to spread.
Lightning in a Bottle was so much fun. Thanks to everyone who came to my show. I love California festivals. Here are some pictures from this magical weekend: pic.twitter.com/s6upU6dsFE
— Toadface (@toadinyoface) May 29, 2024
Some videos from the festival posted to social media showed the crowds covered in what appeared to be a haze of dust, with one TikTok account describing the event as a “magical dusty journey.”
Festival-goers had been warned about strong winds and sandstorms, but not about the invisible threat that fine particles pose to the lungs.
“California probably spends about $1 billion a year treating patients with valley fever and systemic illness,” said Manish Bute, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“However, today’s treatments are similar to those developed in the 1990s, and we still don’t know very well which patients will develop severe disease and which will have milder disease.”
Some researchers worry that further droughts and floods could lead to valley fever spreading almost all along the West Coast. The first cases were reported about a decade ago in Washington state, a long way north from the San Joaquin Valley where the disease takes its name.
An outbreak of Valley Fever at the “Lightning in a Bottle” music festival is a harbinger of diseases to come.
