The 33-year-old travel manager, who suffered from debilitating chest pain and weight loss, was eventually diagnosed with Valley fever, a life-threatening fungal infection that has spread across the United States.
Los Angeles resident Desiree Chan was in pain as she got out of the bath just before New Year’s Eve 2020. She took painkillers, but she continued to develop a phlegm-like cough for several days. She had difficulty speaking and had to keep changing her clothes as she was battling night sweats.
Doctors were baffled by negative test results for pneumonia, tuberculosis and HIV. Ultimately, however, during a 10-day trip to the ER, an antibody test turned out to be positive for a fungal infection.
Valley Fever has spread to the United States thanks to climate change, doubling to 20,000 annually in the last five years. Infected by breathing in spores from degraded soils in the American Southwest and Washington State, people who work in rural areas are most at risk.
33-year-old Desiree Chan of Los Angeles was hit with back pain when she got out of the bath just before New Year’s Eve 2020. She was bedridden for two days and her doctor prescribed painkillers for her.
However, after his condition did not improve and he developed a cough, Chan was sent to the emergency room. There her doctors performed countless tests before deciding she had her fever in the Valley.
Chan said he was prescribed medicine to fight the infection, but he was left feeling sluggish and tired and unable to return to work.
It took until mid-May 2021 for her to start feeling better. It was at this time that her partner Lucas Merton, 34, pictured above with Chan, proposed .
Most cases of Valley fever are mild, and patients get better within a few weeks.
However, up to one-tenth of the infections in this disease, caused by the fungus Coccidioides, become severe and take several months to heal. At this point nodules form in the lungs, and patients experience chest pain, weight loss, and fever. attacked by
Rarely, fungal infections can be fatal.
People with weakened immune systems, people with diabetes, pregnant women, or people of black or Filipino background are most at risk.
There is no cure, instead treatment relies on early diagnosis to quickly control symptoms. Infected patients cannot pass the fungus to others.
Chan told Insider that the illness started a year and a half ago when he felt pain in his neck and back after getting out of the bath on New Year’s Eve.
Six days later, it developed into a sputum-like cough and the pain spread to the rest of her body.
About her symptoms, she said:
Initially, doctors thought she had common back pain and put her on pain relievers, but switched to cough medicine when other symptoms appeared.
But after her illness didn’t go away, they sent her for X-rays, which revealed small nodules on the inside of her lungs, leading them to suspect pneumonia.
She then spent 10 days in the emergency room, where doctors performed various tests.
However, swabs for tuberculosis, HIV, Legionella, Covid, and several other fungal infections were all negative. Confused doctors at one point even considered a lung biopsy to check for cancer.
But eventually, an antibody test for Valley fever came back positive.
She was then put on high doses of the antifungal fluconazole to fight the infection and remained on it until November 2021.
But Chan said they sapped her appetite, left her with brain fog, and forced her to take months off work.
It took another six months before she began to feel more recovered.
She said: “It wasn’t until mid-May of this year that I regained my strength and started to feel clear in my head.
However, it was at this time that her partner, Lucas Merton, 34, proposed.
I don’t know how Chan contracted the disease.
She revealed her diagnosis and experience to raise awareness of her illness.
The pair are pictured together.After battling the disease, they are now engaged
Valley Fever is growing in the United States, with 20,000 cases last year. That’s more than double his number recorded five years ago (fungus photo)
Recorded in the southwestern United States and Washington.Trapped by inhaling spores released when soil is disturbed
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people in areas with Valley Fever should avoid breathing the dust.
Staying indoors during dust storms, avoiding gardening or digging, and using air filtration indoors are also ways to avoid the disease.
Studies show that about 20,000 people get the disease each year, but most cases are mild.
But experts warn that many cases are likely to go undiagnosed due to lack of awareness among health care workers, or lack of testing.
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