Valley fever is hitting California harder than ever before, with a record-breaking 12,600 cases reported in 2024—a sharp rise fueled in part by climate change, which is expanding the range of the fungus responsible for the illness.
One striking example of the disease’s severity is Brynn Carrigan, a public health official from Bakersfield, California, who went from marathon training and raising two teenagers to being completely bedridden within weeks.
In April 2024, Carrigan began suffering from persistent headaches that quickly escalated. “I went from training for a marathon, raising two teenagers, and having a job to essentially being bedridden,” said the 41-year-old Kern County Public Health employee.
The intense headaches were accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and light sensitivity so severe that even the glow of her microwave clock was unbearable. Despite multiple hospital visits, doctors struggled to identify the cause—until a third hospitalization, when a key question finally steered the diagnosis in the right direction: Had she experienced respiratory issues before the headaches began?
