TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Recent Stories

1. 

   McCarthy: CDC to hold valley fever symposium

   BY WILLIAM HEISEL The Reporting on Health Collaborative

   Monday, Apr 22 2013 06:19 PM

   The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will visit the San Joaquin Valley later this year to train health professionals and the public in recognizing and defending against valley fever, Rep. Kevin McCarthy said Monday after an in-depth meeting with the agency.

   McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, talked with CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden about the challenges of fighting the neglected disease -- which sickens an estimated 150,000 people every year, mostly in California and Arizona.

   McCarthy said that the CDC will put on a symposium and invite researchers, public health officials, clinicians and advocates in late summer or early fall. He said he intends to ultimately work with researchers and public health officials to secure funding...

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2. 

   JUST ONE BREATH: Valley fever advocates see hope for new funding, new laws

   FRESNO -- It seemed like the long-ignored disease that robbed San Luis Obispo County resident Todd Schaefer of his health was finally gaining attention. Last fall, then-state Sen. Michael Rubio, D-Shafter, held a town hall meeting on...
3. 

   JUST ONE BREATH: Woman lost two years to valley fever -- and remains fearful of return

   On Sunday, two people from Bakersfield shared their battle with valley fever, including a woman who lost 45 pounds and went blind and a man who, 21 years after diagnosis, still only has half his normal lung capacity. Today, two more...
4. 

   JUST ONE BREATH: More readers tell of their battles with valley fever

   During the five months that The Reporting on Health Collaborative has been publishing stories about the scourge of valley fever, many readers have come forward wanting to tell of their horrific battles with the illness. Today we share...
5. 

   JUST ONE BREATH: More stories from community members on valley fever

   The Reporting on Health Collaborative asked readers to share their experiences with valley fever. Here are their stories, in their own words, as told to the Collaborative's Community Engagement Editor, Kellie Schmitt. Their accounts...
6. 

   JUST ONE BREATH: Community members share their valley fever stories

   The Reporting on Health Collaborative asked readers to share their experiences with valley fever. Here are their stories, in their own words, as told to the Collaborative's Community Engagement Editor, Kellie Schmitt. Their accounts...
7. 

   JUST ONE BREATH: Five ways to move the fight against valley fever forward

   Valley fever is a humbling disease. It can rob sufferers of their health, their life plans and their financial well-being. Uncertainty adds to the trauma. There is no cure around the corner, no vaccine in the works and no well-organized...
9. 

   JUST ONE BREATH: Valley fever treatments can do harm as they heal

   Thousands of California and Arizona adults and children annually contract valley fever and find themselves battling the disease for months or years — missing work and school, spending weeks in the hospital — with frequent recurrences. If...
10. 

    JUST ONE BREATH: Valley fever turns short prison terms into lifelong penalties

    Kevin Walker arrived at Taft Correctional Institution, a federal prison in western Kern County, in December 1999 to serve a 14-year sentence for attempted possession of cocaine. But another kind of sentence awaited him, one far more...

11. JUST ONE BREATH: Researchers hunt for new ways to treat dogs with valley fever

    Dogs, not people, may hold the key to improved treatments, even a possible cure, for valley fever. One way researchers have lured private money is by proposing research projects involving pets, the theory being that companies and donors...
12. 

    JUST ONE BREATH: Valley fever takes an animal toll, and pets rely on the same treatments as people

    The first valley fever victim that Dr. Demosthenes Pappagianis remembers was Mbongo -- a gorilla at the San Diego Zoo "I was a kid in San Diego at the time and saw the article in the newspaper," recalled the veteran researcher on the...
13. 

    JUST ONE BREATH: Misdiagnosis of valley fever prolongs the suffering

    Jayden Lugo has had 56 surgeries in her short life. The 10-year-old from Wasco has brain damage, uses a walker to get around, undergoes therapy once a week and takes three pills every night before she goes to bed. Jayden was born...

14. JUST ONE BREATH: Public health champion felled by valley fever

    The last time Linda Jue saw her husband alive, he was in the intensive care unit in a lot of pain. Right before doctors gave him painkillers, Jeff Jue gave her two thumbs up and smiled. The former Merced County mental health director was...